Malaysian authorities arrest undocumented Myanmar workers
May 5, 2007: In yet another crackdown on undocumented illegal workers, Malaysian authorities arrested 27 Chins belonging to Myanmar yesterday.
Chin refugees in Malaysia (photo-theirc)
During a series of operations against illegal workers in different construction sites, 11 Chins haling from Myanmar were arrested from a construction site in Jahor Baru at around 1 a.m. (Malaysia Standard Time) and 14 Chins were picked up from Putrajaya Limaun Manis at around 7 a.m.
Malaysian immigration authorities and the police locked up 14 Chins from the Putrajaya Limau Manis site in Menggeng Camp. The location of the camp where the other 13 have been kept is yet unknown, said Salai San of the Chin Refugee Committee in Malaysia.The Malaysian government has officially enforced a penalty which involves caning or a jail term for those who work in Malaysia illegally. The caning depends on how long the detainees have stayed and worked in Malaysia. The current detainees are likely to be caned or deported to the Thailand border.
It is not yet known how many Chins among the detainees hold UN recognized refugee cards. If there are card holders among the detainees, the authorities will have confiscated it. Though UN refugee cardholders are released from custody, the authorities are unlikely to return the cards to the holders, according to Salai San.
The UNHCR office in Malaysia is said to be silent and has taken no responsibility for detainees who hold UN cards and have been seeking asylum.
In the raids on undocumented workers that started early this year Malaysian immigration and police have rounded up around 736 Chins.
The Chin Refugee Committee in Malaysia is said to have alerted documented refugees to avoid being rounded up in the operation by the Malaysian Immigration and the police. – KNG.
