KUALA LUMPUR: The Home Ministry does not have an issue with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR) plan to visit detainees at Immigration detention centres, according to Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
Saifuddin said he was aware of the UNHCR’s intention and explained that it was an agreed-upon matter between the ministry and the UNHCR in previous discussions, indicating a positive relationship between the two entities. He made these comments after visiting the General Operations Force (GOF) Central Brigade Headquarters in Cheras on Friday (Feb 16), along with Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Razarudin Husain and Bukit Aman Logistics Department director Datuk Seri Sahabudin Abd Manan.
He also mentioned that efforts were ongoing for data sharing between Malaysia and the UNHCR, stating, “We will compare data. There are things we want and things that they want, and we can reciprocate.”
The UNHCR claimed earlier this month that it had been waiting for approval from the Immigration Department to access its detention centres since August 2019 and had been prevented from visiting detainees, including at the depot in Bidor from which 131 detainees escaped on Feb 1.
On a separate matter, Saifuddin indicated that the ministry would engage as many lawmakers as possible to demonstrate the challenges faced by the police without Sections 4 and 15 of the Prevention of Crime Act (Poca) 1959, and that the ministry is prepared to engage stakeholders before proposing amendments to the sections in question. “We need more engagement on this issue, with a focus on the participation of MPs,” he said.
Sections 4 and 15B of the Prevention of Crime Act (Poca) 1959 were ruled unconstitutional by the Federal Court in April 2022 in the case of a habeas corpus appeal by a man under restricted residence for allegedly being involved in organized crime. The apex court stated that the two sections violated the doctrine of separation of powers.
