He was commenting on a report of a video clip and several photographs that had gone viral on social media showing frail-looking individuals said to have been incarcerated at the centre.

In the video, a frail-looking man claimed that detainees were not getting enough food and drink, while requests for medicine were also not entertained by immigration officers.

“We have to look into whether he is an ordinary citizen who practises a healthy lifestyle or (whether) he was involved in activities that made him like this (frail-looking),” Saifuddin told a press conference at the immigration headquarters here today.

“This (the man’s condition) did not take place while he was in custody. The detainee did not become frail while in custody.

“I hope the media reports on this matter are fair and not one-sided.”

In June, a group of Indonesian NGOs known as the Sovereign Migrant Workers Coalition (KBMB) released a report stating that the Malaysian embassy in Jakarta had recorded 149 Indonesians who died at five Sabah detention centres over 18 months between 2021 and 2022.

The report, produced after interviews with 100 former Indonesian detainees, also blamed the poor conditions at the detention centres, such as dirty toilets and having to sleep on the floor, for the detainees’ poor health.

The group also claimed that detainees were not referred to hospitals when they were ill.

Immigration director-general Khairul Dzaimee Daud had downplayed the report, stating that only 24 Indonesians died at the detention centres in Sabah over the past two years. He said the deaths were mainly due to Covid-19, heart disease and other ailments.

The Malaysian embassy in Jakarta issued an apology, adding that the 149 individuals came from other countries as well.