THE large-scale arrests of undocumented migrants yesterday in areas under enhanced movement control order (EMCO) in the capital will frighten other foreigners into hiding and increase the risk of new Covid-19 infections, the United Nations office in Malaysia said.
 
“The fear of arrest and detention may push these vulnerable population groups further into hiding and prevent them from seeking treatment, with negative consequences for their own health and creating further risks to the spreading of Covid-19 to others,” the UN said in a statement.

It noted that Putrajaya at the start of the MCO in March had promised free screening and treatment for all foreigners, regardless of their immigration status.

The reassurance had given illegal visitors the confidence to step forward but that has been undermined by yesterday’s raids, which could also undo all the country’s efforts to check the coronavirus outbreak, it said.

“Overcrowded conditions in immigration detention centres carry a high risk of increasing Covid-19 infection among both detainees and staff. 

It is especially important to prioritise the release of all children and their caregivers from immigration detention.”

The UN urged Malaysia to eschew detention altogether for non-custodial and community-based alternatives.

Sixty-two civil society organisations, many of them working with marginalised groups including refugees, also slammed the arrests which they said could lead to more infections.

“Should mass arrests result in an increased rate of Covid-19 infections in detained migrants, this will lead to an increased risk of infections among Malaysians who work in detention centres and at other related jobs. 

“This in turn increases the risks of infections of the Malaysian public as a whole,” they said in a joint statement issued through Refuge for the Refugees.

“The best way to combat Covid-19 holistically is for all individuals, including migrants, to come forward for testing, especially when exhibiting symptoms.

“Should the authorities resort to the mass arrests of migrants, this will invariably create a culture of fear that will ripple out amongst migrant communities, and completely scare them away from coming forward to be tested.

“Migrants will probably be even more inclined now to go into hiding, and to avoid detection at all costs.”

It will be even harder to track and trace migrants for tests when more sectors of the economy reopen on Monday, they said.

Putrajaya is now perceived to have again turned back on its word, after Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on March 22 that migrants need not be afriad to come forward for virus tests.

The groups also called for the urgent release of children who were swept up with the adult migrants, saying there were reports of four-year-olds being nabbed in yesterday’s raids.

A large number of undocumented migrants were arrested after authorities swooped on the Masjid India area and Menara City One in Kuala Lumpur. Both areas in lockdown because of Covid-19 infections there. – May 2, 2020.