Noor Aziah Mohd Awal, a child commissioner, said there was no doubt that the unexpected imprisonment of Momoh had traumatised his children.
Momoh is a stay-at-home dad and takes care of his two daughters, Divine, eight, and Elisha, five, as his long-term spouse visa does not allow him to work in the country. He is married to Malaysian Low Kar Hui.
“The girls have been looked after by their dad all this while but, suddenly, he is not home. Any form of separation from the person that regularly looks after you will affect anyone, particularly children,” she told FMT.
“Now, they could have developed a fear of their father being taken away from them or, worse, being sent back to his home country, where they will not be able to see him at all.”
Momoh was arrested at a roadblock in Cheras on March 15 on suspicion of drink-driving. He pleaded guilty in court the same day, paid the RM12,000 fine and Low was told that he would be released after serving a one-day jail sentence.
Instead, the Nigerian national was taken to the Kajang prison and later transferred to the Semenyih immigration detention centre. He has not been in contact with his family for nearly a month now.
A court hearing on his case has been postponed to next Thursday and he is expected to remain detained until then.
Following media coverage of Momoh’s case, Noor Aziah said there was also the possibility of Momoh’s daughters being picked on at school.
She called for Momoh’s immediate release, saying there was no reason to detain him for a longer period of time as he had served his sentence.
Noor Aziah said the Nigerian national had admitted to his drink-driving offence and paid the fine.
“The government must justify the further detention or they can be sued for unlawful detention. Why are they doing this to the children, and to the husband of a fellow Malaysian?” she questioned, adding that Momoh’s visa had not expired yet.
Noor Aziah noted that Momoh’s case showed a need for the Immigration Department to review its policies and standard operating procedures on foreign spouses’ visas.
She also said the regulation prohibiting foreign spouses from working should be reviewed because it was a form of discrimination.
“The government has often cited security issues (when processing visa applications), but they fail to see that if a foreign husband is working in Malaysia, he will actually contribute to the national economy while earning an honest living for his family.”