North-South Initiative executive director Adrian Pereira and human rights specialist John Quinley of Fortify Rights said that foreigners must be allowed to work for their daily needs without fear of being arrested.
Pereira told FMT the government needed to understand that many working refugees and migrants were breadwinners for their families and detaining them would be like punishing their spouses and children.
He said the MCO had prevented officials of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other human rights groups from visiting detention centres to ensure there were checks and balances.
According to Pereira, many court hearings of undocumented migrants that were scheduled to take place in December and early this month have also been delayed by the MCO.
He said, as a result, some lawyers representing them had increased their fees because the postponement meant that they had to use up more time on the cases.
“They are being kept in lock-ups and detention centres even though they are innocent and there’s no one to monitor their welfare. It’s a nightmare for the community.
“The authorities must see that keeping detainees in these centres for longer periods means you are taking up more resources. Taxpayers’ money goes down the drain,” he added.
Earlier this week, senior minister for security and defence minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said the army would be given powers to arrest people in the ongoing Op Benteng, which is aimed at checking illegal immigration into the country.
Quinley said arresting more people would pose major health concerns for both detainees and the workers at detention centres because the cells in such facilities were small and closed.
He added that the lockdowns in the past year had made refugees especially vulnerable since most of them were daily wage earners.
He urged the government to give refugees and migrants access to its economic relief packages.
“Covid-19 is creating financial problems for everyone, but refugees and migrants are particularly at risk,” he said.
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