SENIOR Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob on Tuesday criticised those defending the rights of undocumented migrants.
He is presumably referring to NGOs such as Tenaganita, which have raised concerns about how the government is dealing with undocumented migrants.
Tenaganita advocates that all migrant workers are properly documented and does not in any way encourage undocumented migrant workers to be in the country.
“Undocumented migrants” is a broad term which usually includes:
1. Asylum seekers fleeing war and persecution, who have not yet been registered as refugees by UNHCR because of the long processing time, but who would most likely qualify as refugees. It would be cruel and inhuman to deport this category of persons to countries from which they fled. To do so would be to violate the internationally accepted principle of non-refoulement.
2. Migrant workers who entered the country illegally without any intention of complying with the law. Tenaganita has always maintained that this category of persons should be deported without delay.
3. Migrant workers who do not have valid work permits. From the numerous cases that Tenagantia has handled, it is clear that the majority of those who are considered as “illegal” or undocumented are victims of scams, human trafficking, irresponsible employers who do not obtain or renew work permits and poorly managed policies and schemes.
Much has already been said about how legal migrant workers become undocumented, especially through the negligence of the authorities to monitor the activities of employment agents and “bad apples” within the ranks of the authorities.
These undocumented migrant workers did not enter the country illegally; their “undocumentedness” was caused by systemic failures in the process of recruitment and and management of migrant workers.
Tenaganita has always maintained that it is the responsibility of our government to ensure that these victims are able to obtain justice, instead of being further victimised.
Tenaganita fully supports the government’s efforts to ensure the safety of Malaysian citizens but it must be clear that this is not incompatible with upholding the rights of migrant workers.
Tenaganita has always advocated a lasting, sustainable and equitable approach towards managing migrant workers.
Towards this end, Tenaganita once again expresses its readiness to work with the authorities to identify and address the root causes of the large number of undocumented migrant workers, so that we as a nation can continue to benefit from the services of legally documented migrant workers while respecting their rights and dignity.
Joseph Paul
Tenaganita
