Allow spot checks if detention centres are in good condition, MP tells NSC
Athira Aminuddin
The Klang MP said the watchdogs should be allowed spot checks if NSC feels the centres are "safe and livable". This comes after 528 Rohingya detainees escaped from the Sg Bakap, Penang temporary detention depot, earlier today.
He said Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) and NGOs should be allowed to visit the detention centres.
“I have heard stories from people who have been detained, that they have trouble accessing sufficient food and water while being kept in a cramped place. There are refugees sitting there for years without any solution to their predicament," he told Sinar Daily.
On April 16, NSC Director-General Datuk Rodzi Md Saad had told Sinar Daily that the centres are safe and in good condition, with detainees' welfare being well taken care of.
Meanwhile, Suhakam's Commissioner Jerald Joseph had said as of 1st July 2020, the immigration detention centre housed 15,163 detainees, exceeding the capacity limit of 12,530.
Puteri Wangsa State assemblyman Amira Aisya Abdul Aziz told Sinar Daily that overcrowing issues at the centres need to be looked into to curb mental and health issues with “priority given when it comes to child detention."
"Keeping them isolated and safe is a primary focus” she added.
This comes after the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in October 2020 said minors kept without parents or guardians.
