Press Statement: Malaysia-Australia Refugees-Asylum Seekers Swap Deal- Malaysia must ensure human rights of all asylum seekers are not violated.
Jul 26, 2011
I refer to the agreement between Malaysia and Australia signed yesterday to swap refugees and asylum seekers. Despite widespread disagreement with the move, including the victory of a dissenting motion in Australian Parliament, the two nations have pushed ahead and ignored genuine human rights concerns surrounding the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia.
Malaysia is not a signatory to the United Nations 1951 Refugee Convention. Our laws refuse to distinguish between asylum seekers and other undocumented migrants. At present, Malaysia has no asylum system hence, refugees – even if processed and recognised by the UNHCR – are considered illegal immigrants and risk being subjected to deportation.
Like many others, I am confused as to why the deal, which would see 800 unprocessed asylum seekers being sent to Malaysia, has been pushed ahead with such urgency especially when Malaysia remains classified in Tier 2 Watch List of the US State Department’s “2011 Trafficking in Persons Report”. I quote from the report:
“Malaysia is a destination, and to a lesser extent, a source and transit country for men, women, and children who are subjected to conditions of forced labour, and women and children subjected to sex trafficking.”
The report also notes Malaysia’s failure to fully comply with minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. Despite efforts to improve implementation of the Anti Trafficking in Persons Act 2007, there remain many serious concerns, including the detention of victims in government facilities. Through various accounts of anecdotal evidence, living conditions of detention camps (or “shelters” as the Malaysian government calls them) appear to be inhumane. Human rights violations at such “shelters” include cramped conditions, lack of adequate sanitation, poor nutrition, lack of medical facilities, physical abuse, corporal punishment, etc.
This calls for greater scrutiny on details of the deal inked between Australia and Malaysia, particularly on the legal status of asylum seekers sent to Malaysia. If the asylum seekers risk being repatriated like other refugees currently in Malaysian detention, Australia has an obligation to ensure the safety and wellbeing of those being subject to deportation.
There is a lack of information on the process of repatriation and I call upon the Home Affairs Minister Hishammudin Hussein to shed some light on this area. It is my concern that the State Department also reports that “two of the three individuals convicted of labour trafficking offenses last year were drivers who were involved in the transporting of Burmese refugees from a government immigration detention center to the border with Thailand where they were handed over to trafficking syndicates” (my emphasis in bold). More shockingly, the other person arrested in July 2009 for the trafficking of Burmese refugees to Thailand is a Malaysian immigration official. This case still remains pending.
I believe the abovementioned case is just the tip of the iceberg and indicates possible involvement of government officials in the network of human trafficking activity in Malaysia. I urge for more light to be shed on the subject and that Australia should have recognised this as a concern before inking the swap deal with Malaysia. I do not wish for Malaysia to be a convenient dumping ground for unprocessed asylum seekers. Based on current situations and the lack of legal protections, any move to transit asylum seekers in Malaysia must be viewed skeptically. The Government of Malaysia has to ratify the 1951 Refugee Convention, allow refugees legal status, revamp current conditions of shelters, and investigate/stamp out all forms of organised corruption in the repatriation process.
Chow Kon Yeow
Member of Parliament, Tanjong.
Penang State Exco Member and State Assemblyperson, Padang Kota.
Penang DAP State Chairman.
Daftarlah Sebagai Rakan DAP! 
http://greenstate.penang.gov.my
