Be Thankful For Detention Of Undocumented Migrants Minister Tells Critics

---

CORONAVIRUS | Defence Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob has told his critics to be thankful to Putrajaya for detaining undocumented migrants who could spread Covid-19 to the general public if they are allowed to roam freely
Ismail (above) said he could not understand why there are groups raising up the issue of their arrest when there should be no issue at all
"I don't understand these groups which know nothing about the law," he said without naming them
"They (immigrants) had entered the country illegally, thus they can be arrested according to the law. This is very clear in terms of our laws," he told a press conference in Putrajaya today
The senior minister in charge of security cluster said after the arrest, some of the undocumented migrants were tested positive for Covid-19. "In fact, they (the critics) should be thankful to us. If not for the arrest, they (migrants) would definitely spread Covid-19 to innocent people," Ismail said
He added that the "unhappy" critics are allowed to meet the infected migrants
Ismail said the government will not succumb to the demands of these group in the name of human rights, as this was the right thing to do to protect the public interest. The minister was asked to respond to groups which claimed discrimination over the arrest of undocumented migrants
As of yesterday, a total of 4,342 undocumented migrants were detained at the immigration detention depots in Bukit Jalil, Semenyih and KLIA
The government has adopted a standard operating procedure to round them up in enhanced movement control order (MCO) areas when the lockdown is about to be lifted
The enhanced MCO confines all residence to their homes to allow health screenings for Covid-19
On May 2, a collection of 62 NGOs warned that social distancing measures cannot be properly implemented in detention centres and could become a hotbed for Covid-19. They said it was an appalling violation of the rights of the children who had been swept up by these arrests as they should not be detained or treated like criminals
Putrajaya has maintained that it must uphold the rule of law and cannot simply let off people who entered the country illegally when the lockdown is lifted. - Mkini

---