ABOUT 1,300 illegal foreigners have died during detention in the past six years, Malaysia Nanban quoted Malaysian Human Rights (Suhakam) commissioner Datuk N. Siva Subramaniam as saying.
He said many of them died in immigration detention centres, prisons and police lockups because they were denied medical treatment at the right time.
He proposed that a doctor and a medical assistant be appointed in each detention camp and prison which should have the necessary facilities to transfer sick prisoners to hospitals during an emergency.
I’m sad, I’m angry, and I’m almost at a loss for words.
I keep thinking how most of humanity’s history has been that of migration. We don’t leave homes at a whim or fancy; things are usually pretty bad before vast groups of people decide to leave their homelands for strange lands.
Having done some work with refugees, I’ve heard some heartbreaking tales. Some of these end with a marginally better life here in Malaysia - albeit one with constant harassment. For these 1,300, I guess it ended in further tragedy :(
In my last post, I forgot to write about one more event I attended briefly on Sunday after lunch - a Solidarity Day for Migrants held in Brickfields, organised by Tenaganita and some other migration organisations.
One of the main themes was “No human is illegal.” A good point which the press have consistently failed to pick up on (see above).
The event was a celebration of a truly rich diversity of cultures that has come to our shores, and one of those relatively rare opportunities for those who mostly clean up in coffeeshops or labour to build KL to showcase their heritage and express their arts.
The mood there was exuberant, and to me spoke of the rarity of opportunity such people get to get together in good cheer and enjoy happy festivity in good company.
The performances were a lot of fun… :)
At the risk of sounding a bit morbid, I really hope none of these people end up dead in some detention center.
But I promised both of us I’d do my best not to dwell on it.
I’m just glad her dad is feeling better :) (it was due to concussion apparently, not stroke as earlier reported. Whatever it is, I’m just glad for signs of recovery)
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Speaking of which though, there are a number of cases Li Tsin reported on recently that I thought it was really important to call extra attention to.
Expectedly, tales of vicious human rights abuses and horrific maltreatment of detainees often takes a back seat to Malaysia’s currently very sexy political scene.
Let’s not lose ourselves in scandals and drama though, and forget how the dignity of human beings is being beaten and raped in our own backyard.
The first incident took place in the Semenyih detention camp for undocumented migrants:
The Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) has confirmed that immigration officers had badly beaten up three Burmese refugees at the Semenyih detention camp two nights ago.
Suhakam Commissioner N Siva Subramaniam, who visited the detention camp yesterday, said the incident had been sparked off by the discovery of tobacco, deemed a contraband item under camp rules.
“After finding (it), immigration officers beat three Burmese refugees on the head with shoes and stepped on their thighs and legs. The (detainees) showed me marks where they were hit,” he told Malaysiakini.
“We take this incident very seriously as this is not the first time that such things have happened.”
The commissioner also said the Burmese trio were not taken to a hospital but were only given basic medical treatment by the immigration officers.
Siva said the main reason why such incidents occur is because there is a shortage of immigration officers in the camp.
“There are so many problems there (but) 70 percent of vacancies have not been (filled). The majority (who are) recruited and posted to the detention camp do not understand what human rights are,” he said.
“The immigration officers fail to understand that the refugees are also human beings and must be treated as such.”
He lambasted Rela for indiscriminately arresting even documented refugees causing many of them to be detained unnecessarily.
According a recently released international report, Malaysia is one of the worst places in the world for refugees.
I would be disinclined to think of this incident as the result of unruly and ungrateful illegal immigrants, until one of us has spent even one night in those camps.
These detention centers used to be run by the Prisons department, who at least have the slightest sliver of professionalism when it comes to detention. Can we expect immigration officers to know the first thing about such things? A foolish policy, if you ask me.
Also, the NST report states that a group of Iranians were hurt. MSRI contends that those men were instead Palestinian (letter reproduced below). So much for standing up for Palestinian rights.
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We apparently don’t love Malaysians much more either. A recent horrific case:
Four individuals have lodged complaints of police abuses, including being forced to perform oral sex, during their remand to the Human Rights Commission (Suhakam).
Originally, five individuals were arrested in Cheras on May 29 and held at the Kajang police station on a seven-day remand. During which two of them - one of them a juvenile - were forced to perform oral sex on each other.Four of them were also beaten up before getting their remands extended for another three days where the abuses continued.
“The sergeant who made them perform oral sex on each other was angry that they informed the magistrate about it (abuses) and asked them why they made the complaint.
“He then made them lick his boots, sprayed Ridsect (insect repellent) on their faces and were then beaten up with pipes by three or four police officers.
Video:
What. The. Fuck.
When are we going to get a government that is serious about human rights? Serious about sentisizing those in power, and kicking out the monsters we allow to wear uniforms that are supposed to be about noble service.
Briefly on the Lenggeng detention center riots (see latest Malaysiakini article). I’ve personally been to these detention centers and can tell you that living there will drive anyone mad. Compound that with the fact that human beings, with lives, families and dignity of their own, are detained there indefinitely.
What this means is that for all they know, detainees could be left to spend the rest of their lives in that shithole.
This is not just.
The detainees who rose up are said to be mostly Burmese. I’ve also personally interviewed a number of Burmese refugees, and have read a fair bit about the country. I’ve studied many horrible conflict zones in Africa, but I would still say that Burma is literally one of the worst places in the world to live.
We need a better solution to this problem. Yes, we cannot simply allow in a flood of refugees, but what we are doing now is inhumane, and not doing anything to change it will only come to cause even more longer term problems in Malaysia.
You’re letting loose a bunch of people recruited off the streets with at best minimal training and giving them the power over thousands of human beings.
If history is anything to go by, you can expect beatings, rapes and torture.
The extended detention of eight Myanmars by prison authorities on Wednesday was unlawful, the Bar Council’s Human Rights Committee chairman Edmund Bon said today.
“We are extremely disappointed that the accused served longer jail terms than ordered by the courts, and were also whipped,” he said when commenting on the case of eight Myanmar nationals who were whipped after serving more than double their jail terms due to a delay by the courts.
“The prisons cannot hold someone once his prison sentence has been served, irrespective of whether the whipping has been executed. In other words, the prisons cannot hold a prisoner just to wait for a decision whether to whip or not after his sentence is completed.” added Bon
It’s apalling!!
And it will only get worse if you start letting Rela run things.
Refugees and other migrants are some of the most invisible, forgotten sufferers in this country. One could go on and on about their terrible plight, but for today, wanted to point you to Fifty Refugees - heart-to-heart interviews with 50 of these human beings done by some friends of mine, to coincide with the country’s age. There’s an excerpt below, do check out the great effort!
A lawyer friend of mine is tabling a motion to abolish whipping as a form of punishment - focusing especially on the abuse of migrants.
Do have a look at the reasoning used in the motion (reproduced below), and the gory descriptions of inhumane cruelty used as examples.
MOTION FOR THE ABOLITION OF CORPORAL PUNISHMENT OF WHIPPING
Whereas:-
1. In recent times, authorities are clamping down with greater brutality on migrants who are deemed “illegal” under the Immigration Act. The increasing demonisation of foreigners in the media as criminals and trouble makers failed to acknowledge that very often these persons are in fact undocumented persons, asylum seekers, migrant workers and refugees who have endured unspeakable horrors escaping conflict stricken territories, and /or suffered at the hands of ruthless agents, traffickers and authorities. [Read more →]
Asked whether the government was not afraid to be labelled a liar for calling off the lucky draws, Radzi said: “We do not lie. We just ask the public to forget about it.“
o_O ?!?!
He also goes on in the most typically shameful fashion imaginable to place all the blame on his predecessor DS Azmi Khalid.
So why now, all of a sudden? And as The Malaysian (increasingly prolific writer from whom I caught this) asks: exactly which orphanage is getting this Myvi? They giving out driver’s licenses to kids these days?
If it was a silly idea, fine, just don’t ever do it again. This kind of pullout makes it look like you just want the prizes alllllll to yourself - and remember, perception is everything.
Radzi was silent when asked whether the Cabinet was aware of his decision.
So when the Cabinet comes scolding him in light of the public outroar this is likely to follow, is he going to smile sheepishly, giggle and ask them to foged aboud idla…. :P
Ok, I don’t think readers are going to consider me the most objective authority on this, and I’ll be the first to admit that I’m gagap ekonomi (blur on economic matters).
But c’mon, this is three front pages in a row! (link for third headline on EPF no longer available on stupid NST archives - being a lousy newspaper doesn’t mean you should have a lousy website!)
Seriously. Even if I didn’t think there was something wrong with the economy before, I sure do now. Why else would Umno’s biggest English mouthpiece be so damn concerned about throwing huge figures at me in attempt to dazzle me into awed worship of the almighty government?
There’s been a groundswell of anti-spin activities. While one of the most promising economic blogs is newcomer Elanor (where’s your take on this!? :), other usual suspects are Malaysiakini letter writers, Jeff Ooi, Tony Pua and the like. Go there for detailed analysis.
For me, I just think it’s one of those signs of weaknesses. Like DS Abdullah saying “I’m in charge” or “I will continue to run the country.” A confident leader need not yap these things in public, just as a confident economy need not be highlighted three front pages in a row.
As has been expressed simply before - are you feeling invigorated by the economy? If you aren’t, and such big numbers aren’t completely made up (or the result of ‘creative accounting’), then someone is getting fat from all this ‘economic boom’, but it sure ain’t the rakyat.
ps- in fairness, have a look at what the IHT has to say.
