Malaysia must free the children in immigration detention centres

Image: 123rf.com

In reference to the article “Home Ministry: 756 children held at immigration detention centres nationwide as at Oct 26”, the Refugee Action for Change (ReAct) advocacy group strongly objects to the inhumane detention of children in Malaysia. These are alarmingly large numbers of children under the age of 18, all being criminalised for immigration offences, which implies that children should be penalised for crimes beyond their control.

The Home Minister, in a written response to the question in Parliament from MP Wong Shu Qi (PH-Kluang) about the number of detained children, said of the 756 children detained, 405 are without their guardians. Figures provided state 326 out of this total without guardians are children from Myanmar, which indicates that their families are asylum seekers. As asylum seekers, these are children who have fled war, persecution and violence, and are now seeking a safe refuge in Malaysia. On top of the trauma they are already suffering, the government’s current policy heaps more pain on them by confining them in immigration detention centres.