In a statement today, LFL coordinator Zaid Malek urged the government not to treat the children as criminals as they could not have entered the country on their own volition and are entirely victims of circumstances.
He reminded the government that Malaysia, being a party to the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), must ensure that the child’s best interest be a primary consideration.
“Therefore, it is unfathomable as to why the authorities deem it fit and proper to detain hundreds of migrant and refugee children, most of whom are detained without guardians, in overcrowded detention centres during a global pandemic.
“The government is wilfully putting these vulnerable children at increased risk of Covid-19 infection, breaching its obligation under the CRC,” he said.
The home ministry recently revealed that 756 children, including 268 girls, were being held at immigration detention centres nationwide as at Oct 26.
The ministry also revealed there were 405 children being held at the centres without their guardians. Most of them were Myanmar nationals comprising 253 boys and 73 girls, making up a total 326 out of the 405 children.
“While not explicitly stated, it could reasonably be presumed that most, if not all, of these children are Rohingya. This would mean that the authorities have inexplicably detained child refugees and asylum seekers,” Zaid said.
He said the continued detention of these children at such centres was inhumane and urged the government to release them into the care of their parents, guardian or the appropriate welfare authorities.
“We further reiterate our earlier calls for the authorities to halt any and all action against migrants while Covid-19 remains a viable threat and release all refugees and asylum seekers currently in detention,” he said.
The statement by LFL echoes the sentiments expressed by a Syrian refugee who spent seven months stranded at the klia2 terminal in 2018.
In a recent interview with FMT, Hassan al-Kontar spoke of the need for reforms in Malaysia’s immigration detention centres.
He said Malaysia’s refugee policy lags far behind that of most developed countries, and many Malaysians were “very misinformed” about what goes on at detention centres.
“The immigration officers and police in the detention centre should be civilised. They should care about human rights,” Hassan told FMT.
“They jailed a 12-year old Rohingya boy with me in the detention centre. A kid.
“There were women with babies three or four months old in the women’s cells. That’s not acceptable, by any standard.”