LITTLE has changed about the way detainees in immigration detention centres are treated over the years, from the time the late Tenaganita activist Irene Fernandez first raised awareness on the issue in the 1990s, to a recent Facebook post by young refugee worker Heidy Quah.

Several activists from migrant and refugee rights groups agreed with Quah’s description of how detainees are being treated, saying they had similar experiences.

Tenaganita director Aegile Fernandez said she is sad that pleas by civil society groups over the years have fallen on deaf ears and that it is “normal” for detainees to experience humiliating circumstances before repatriation.

Such detainees comprise migrants, refugees and the stateless whose common complaints include hunger, rough treatment and abuse.

“The place is so cramped. Some sleep sitting up. They can’t make the slightest noise, or they are beaten,” Aegile told The Malaysian Insight.

Quah, founder and director of Refuge for the Refugees, wrote on June 4 about the plight of a female detainee arrested after giving birth.

Due to the lack of amenities at the detention centre, the mother used a T-shirt as a makeshift baby nappy. She also had no sanitary pads to use and was handcuffed while speaking to Quah.

Quah, whose post has been met with derision, was not allowed to give milk and nappies to the woman and was told by immigration officers to hand over money instead so she could buy the items at the detention centre’s store, where goods are overpriced.

All this is sad but not surprising, said Aegile, adding that her late sister Irene, who co-founded Tenaganita, revealed such abuses in 1995 in a report.

Irene was charged with publishing false news and found guilty in 2003. Her conviction was overturned in 2008. She died in 2014 at 67.

Aegile said what her sister had published was “very mild” compared with the migrants’ accounts.

“Irene’s report was on living conditions in detention centres. She was arrested 1996. What Tenaganita highlighted was very mild compared with what the migrants shared. They shared a lot and gave testimony during Irene’s court case. However, from that time until now, nothing much has changed.

“There’s nothing different to what Quah highlighted. We know the conditions of Malaysian detention centres. We have nothing to hide. That is why we have a bad reputation when we speak up on the ill-treatment of migrant workers,” Aegile said.

The Malaysian Insight turned to civil society organisations about Quah’s claims due to difficulty obtaining permission from the immigration authorities for the media to enter detention centres.

Deaths in custody

North-South Initiative director Adrian Pereira said further proof of conditions in detention centres is contained in a 2017 report by the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam), which also highlighted the deaths of more than 100 foreigners in these centres.

“It has been reported by Suhakam before that inmates are not treated well.

“The number of deaths in custody of migrants is not as prominent as deaths in police custody but the numbers are still high,” Pereira said.

Suhakam’s report cited data by the Immigration Department, which recorded 83 deaths of detainees in 2015, and at least 35 in 2016. The reasons were cited as “various diseases and unknown causes”.

Of the 118 detainees who died from 2015 to 2016, 63 were from Myanmar. Myanmar nationals were found to fare the worse of detainees from any other country, data by Suhakam as well as from the Malaysian government’s Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) showed.

Jerald Joseph, one of eight commissioners at Suhakam, in 2017 called for an overhaul of the immigration detention system.

He cited his own visits to some detention centres, which he described as “appalling”, and said the deaths should be investigated as criminal cases, believing that some may have been caused by poor sanitation and food, physical abuse and lack of medical attention.

Migrant Care country representative Alex Ong said detention centres in Malaysia are not up to international standards on hygiene and social spacing.

“Maybe we can’t compare with detention centres in Scandinavian countries but we should at least have a standard for hygiene as well as space for social distancing.

“We are looking at centres with a capacity of 14,000 detainees in a building 10 or 20 years old with no proper maintenance. But without enough funds from the government, how is it going to get better?” Ong said.

He also noted the lack of medical officers and facilities inside detention centres.

Expensive goods

Aegile, meanwhile, said the high cost of goods sold at the detention centre’s store was a practice started in the early 1990s.

Quah said a single cup of Maggi noodles costs RM12 in the store.

Aegile said a former detainee told Tenaganita that a brief phone call costs RM10.

The food given to detainees is also insufficient, leaving them hungry or forced to buy extra food at high prices from the store.

“If you want something and if you have money, then you have to pay. For example, one brief phone call using a warden or officer’s handphone might cost RM10.

“Since the food given is not sufficient, they have to buy more if they don’t want to be hungry. No money, just keep quiet.”

Aid groups cannot hand food directly to detainees and have to deal with the immigration officer in charge if they want to give any assistance to those inside.

Ong also agreed that goods sold at the detention centre store are pricey and that detainees have no choice but to buy items there as they are not allowed to receive anything from visitors.

“During the visit, we can pass them money so that they can buy things inside but the price of items there can be costly.

“This includes daily necessities. For example, a small soap can cost RM10.”

The only time detainees are allowed to receive food is during festive seasons, such as Hari Raya, which they’re not allowed to take into their cells, Ong added.

Aegile said the government needs to relook its policies and practices in immigration detention centres.

“The government should sit down with civil society groups on the problem and get our opinions.

“It is time to clean up our detention centres. We’ve been fighting for this for years but the government doesn’t listen to civil society. We have even appealed to Suhakam.

“Our attempts have fallen on deaf ears and we are constantly ignored.”

In a text message response to The Malaysian Insight’s queries, director-general of immigration Khairul Dzaimee Daud said the Home Ministry will hold a session with civil society groups.

He also said deportation is currently in progress and that the department is “doing our level best to deport all detainees”.

The migrant community has been in the spotlight during the Covid-19 pandemic after clusters involving foreign workers were detected.

The Health Ministry said 78% of Covid-19 cases in Malaysia since May 4 involved foreign workers.

The authorities also conducted raids to round up undocumented migrants in buildings and areas under lockdown, prompting outcry that the government was breaking an earlier promise not to arrest migrants during the movement-control order (MCO) period so as to encourage them to come forward for testing.

The government also faced criticism after many Covid-19 infections were detected at three immigration detention centres, although the Health Ministry has said it is still investigating the source of the infections.

Sentiments against migrants and refugees have also worsened amid fears of Covid-19 transmissions and the economic downturn, as Quah experienced on social media.

Last week, Malaysia reported its highest number of new Covid-19 cases, with 277 new infections with 271 of the total involving foreigners, of which 270 were detected at the Bukit Jalil immigration detention centre. – June 10, 2020.