KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Immigration Department will not compromise on any form of abuse of power and violence by any of its officers.
Its director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said the department always complied with international standards such as the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules For The Treatment of Prisoners (The Nelson Mandela Rules) and the International Committee of The Red Cross (ICRC) – Healthcare in Detention in the management of its depot.
According to Zakaria, the department also has Immigration Regulations (Administrative and Management of Immigration Depots) 2003 and Standing Instructions of the Director-General of Immigration on the Administration and Management of Immigration Depots.
“Referring to a media statement by the Enforcement Agency Integrity Commission (EAIC) regarding the incident of ethnic Rohingya detainees escaping from the Bidor Temporary Immigration Depot (DISB) Perak on Feb 1 this year, the Immigration Department takes note and views seriously the findings of the investigation,” he said in a statement here on Wednesday (Oct 16).
“If there are elements of misconduct and physical abuse, the Immigration Department will take firm action against such officers based on the provisions of the law,” he said.
The EAIC’s investigation revealed that violence and abuse dated back to 2020 and continued through 2021 while the detainees were at Kem Wawasan Langkawi before being transferred to various camps, including Bidor.
Several Immigration personnel at the Bidor depot, including two officers transferred from Langkawi, were involved in excessive violence, causing physical and mental harm to the detainees.
The EAIC has recommended disciplinary action against the involved officers by the Immigration Department.
The investigation was conducted under subsection 27(4) of the EAIC Act 2009 (Act 700) following a complaint. The EAIC highlighted other issues, including weak infrastructure, as the temporary Immigration depot was a former National Training Service Camp and lacked the necessary standards for operation. – Bernama
