MALAYSIA: Arbitrary arrests and detention of 233 asylum seekers and refugees

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from SUARAM, a human rights organization in Malaysia, that 228 asylum seekers and refugees from western Burma were arbitrarily arrested by the immigration officers and a civilian group on 25 June 2007. Two days later, on 27 June 2007, 41 more refugees were arrested. Even though 36 of those arrested who have been formally recognized as refugees by UN have now been released, 233 people still remained detained, among them at least 30 minors and 5 pregnant women.

CASE DETAILS:

Around 2am on 25 June 2007, a joint force composed of officers from the Malaysian immigration and a group called the People’s Voluntary Corp (RELA) raided the Chin Refugee Center and communities at Jalan Imbi and Jalan San Peng, Kuala Lumpur. The operation arrested 228 asylum seekers and refugees, many of whom were recognized by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to await resettlement to another country. The leader of the Chin Refugee Center, Philemo, was also arrested at this time. Two days later, on 27 June 2007, 41 more refugees were arrested from Jalan San Peng. Approximately half of those arrested were sent to the Semenyih detention center while the other half was sent to the Lenggeng detention center. At least 30 of the detainees are minors, and 5 are pregnant women.

Among the 269 arrested in total, only 36, including Philemo, who were recognized as refugees by the UNHCR and who have been granted resettlement were released by the Malaysian government. The others who are formally recognized by the UNHCR as refugees but who do not have resettlement plans are being detained.
Although pregnant women are among the detainees, the detention center neither has doctors nor allows the detainees to see doctors.

According to the Chin Refugee Center, the Malaysian government has yet to say what will come of the detainees. However, it is believed that the refugees may face trial in the Malaysian courts.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

Malaysia has not acceded to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Optional protocol, nor to the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons or to the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness.

Due to the absence of a legal framework for the protection of refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia, the implementing of current provisions of the Immigration Act 1953/63 (Act 155) has resulted in detaining them at immigration detention centres, prosecuting them for immigration-related offences and subsequently imprisoning and/or deporting them. (For details, please see Concluding Observation of the Committee on the Rights of the Childadopted on 2 February 2007)

Malaysia has not enacted any laws or regulations concerning the status of asylum seekers and refugees so that they are prosecuted for immigration-related offences and indefinitely detained at immigration detention centres or deported. The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) recommended in its Concluding Comments in 31 May 2006 that Malaysia adopt laws and regulations relating the status of refugees and asylum seekers, in line with the international standards.

Besides immigration officers, the People’s Voluntary Corp (RELA), formed under the Emergency (Essential Powers) Act 1979, is empowered by the Essential (Ikatan Relawan Rakyat) (Amendment) Regulations of 2005 to bear arms, stop and demand documents, and arrest and enter a premise without a warrant, if they have reasonable belief that any person is a terrorist, undesirable person, or illegal immigrant. Differing from ordinary police or immigration officers, RELA members are only ordinary citizens who join the volunteer reserve without official training. RELA members normally join the Immigration department during operations. However, they can also conduct raids on their own.

The government of Malaysia labels refugees and asylum seekers as illegal immigrants. It is alleged that in an attempt to gain popular appeal, politicians have already begun cracking down on “illegal immigrants,” notably refugees. The arrest and detention of refugees are publicized as the curtailing of illegal immigrant activity.

The Chin is ethnic minority from western Burma. Many of whom have fled claiming persecution at the hands of the armed forced and other authorities there.

SUGGEST ACTION:
Please write letters to the concerned authorities, and urge for the immediate releases of the 233 detainees, as well as the review on the outlawed Emergency Act that granted a Voluntary reserve impunity and rights to operate as government officials. Please also demand them to provide immediate medical assistance to those who are pregnant. Please also urge them to adopt convention relating to refugees and enact a domestic legal frame work to protect the people seeking asylum.

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