AS the Covid-19 epidemic continues to hit ordinary Malaysians hard, refugees in the country are in a different battle – coping with the never-ending police harassment.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, refugees told The Malaysian Insight they were afraid to go out during this period, especially with the various lockdowns in place.

These refugees, mostly in Kuala Lumpur, said even carrying a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) card offered them no reprieve.

With civil groups backing the claims of these refugees, Inspector-General of Police Acryl Sani Abdullah Sani promised action against his errant men.

A man in his late 20s, who has lived in Malaysia as a refugee for almost 10 years, revealed he was threatened with arrest in a recent “spot check” by two policemen on patrol in the city centre.

Another man in his early 20s, who is battling post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) due to the war he witnessed in his home country as a child, claimed he was assaulted by an officer recently and had his money snatched.

The Malaysian Insight learnt that most of the acts of harassment were committed by policemen on patrol.

“I was stopped recently by a police patrol while walking home in Ampang. I showed them my UNHCR card, but it didn’t stop them from getting aggressive towards me,” said the man from Myanmar.

“After knowing that I am a refugee, they threatened me with arrest, claiming that I had broken the law.

“I panicked because I was made to believe that I had committed something wrong. Eventually, they asked for money, which I had no choice but to oblige.”

The man said that since arriving in Malaysia in 2012, he had been stopped and harassed by policemen more than 20 times.

“Every time I am stopped, they would ask for money. At one time, I had only RM50. They took my wallet, grabbed the money and returned the wallet. There was nothing I could do,” he said.

“It is almost a normal thing for refugees to get harassed by the police. I was told by a friend that it is better to give in rather than to stand up for our rights. I followed my friend’s advice.”

Heartless officers

The man who suffers from PTSD shared his story, where he described the police officers as heartless.

“I thought I could escape the war and see a better world, but I was wrong. It is indeed a cruel world,” he said.

“During the epidemic, everyone is struggling to survive. One day, as I had just returned from cleaning someone’s house, I was stopped by two officers on motorcycles.

“I was wearing a mask and did not do anything against the law. They asked for my identification. I showed my refugee card and told them in broken Malay that I was returning home from work.

“They asked if I had money. I said I just got this money from cleaning a house. They used the movement-control order as a reason, saying I violated the law. They said they would let me go this time, but they took the money.

“They left me with only RM30 and took the rest of it. They also threatened to arrest me if they saw me again.”

The man fled Afghanistan in 2016, leaving behind his family. He is under medication to treat his traumatic experience living through the war.

A Pakistani refugee said he was forced to give RM200 to a group of police officers when he applied to cross state borders.

He was issued the letter after paying them.

“As soon as they saw my application, they asked for RM200 because I hold a UNHCR card. I had to cross a state border to help another Pakistani community,” he said.

“I had no choice but to give them the money. This happened in a police station.”

Access to healthcare affected

Migrants and refugee rights organisation Tenaganita agreed that extortion by police officers has continued unabated.

Its community liaison officer, Elise Arya Chen, said such incidents were especially prevalent during the lockdowns and affected refugees who did not have their UNHCR cards for some reason.

“Due to travel restrictions, many refugees were unable to get their cards or letters renewed by UNHCR,” she said.

“Despite UNHCR having issued authorised letters to explain the expired cards and letters, police were alleged to have continued threatening the refugees with arrests without much reference to the contents of the letters.

“This also led to extortion and bribery, of amounts ranging from RM50 to RM500.”

She said the refugees also struggled to get medical treatments at government hospitals and clinics.

This happened despite UNHCR having held discussions with the Health Ministry on the expired cards and letters.

IGP promises action

Meanwhile, the inspector-general of police has promised thorough and transparent investigations against these rogue cops.

Acryl said refugees who have been harassed by police officers should note down their names and vehicle number plates before lodging a police report.

“I would like to urge them to lodge a police report. Take down the names and vehicle plate numbers of the police officers,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

“I will make sure a fair investigation is carried out. We will not compromise and will act based on the laws provided.”

He said a circular against stopping foreigners without clear reasons was issued to his personnel to prevent abuse of power.

He said the circular had made it clear that police should not stop any individual without a solid reason.

“Police officers have been told not to simply stop foreign nationals to check their passes or permits unless they have clear proof that these people have committed an offence,” Acryl said.

“This order was circulated to every officer to prevent abuse of power. Using the reason that the pass or permit is suspected to be false without reasonable information is no justification for an inspection.”

According to the UNHCR website, there are about 179,390 refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia.

They are mostly from Myanmar, Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia and Sri Lanka.

The number of refugees and asylum seekers has doubled since the end of 2008 as a result of a large-scale registration of these people, many of whom had been in the country for years.

Malaysia is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its protocol. There is currently no legislative or administrative framework for dealing with refugees. – September 27, 2021.