ALOR STAR: Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifudin Nasution Ismail has questioned claims from Human Rights Watch alleging that over 1,400 children have been held in 20 immigration depots across the country, exposing them to significant risks of physical mistreatment and mental distress.
Saifuddin questioned the credibility of the sources cited by the non-governmental organisation, insisting that he is fully aware of the situation in immigration depots.
"What are their sources? Where did these so-called incidents happen? Where were these incidents reported?
"They (Human Rights Watch) can't just do that (make claims), we have 19 immigration depots, and I know precisely the number of children in each of these depots," he said during a press conference after presenting appointment letters to Kedah Village Development Committee here today.
Saifuddin stressed that a portion of children detained in immigration depots have been transferred to Baitul Mahabbah Welfare Centres for better care.
Hence, he urged the Human Rights Watch to specify the immigration depots involved in their claims for proper action to be taken.
"This is the first time I heard of the claim, they need to specify which immigration depot, whether it is in Semenyih or Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). Please be fair and provide the details for us to obtain accurate information," he added.
In a statement today, The Human Rights Watch said a total of 1,467 children were confined in 20 immigration detention centres nationwide as of last September.
According to the organisation, children in the depots often face abuse, which includes denial of medical treatment, inadequate food, and poor conditions.
It also claimed that two-thirds of the detained children are unaccompanied or separated from their families, and sometimes sent back to their home countries alone.
Meanwhile, on a related issue, Saifuddin denied claims of overcrowding in immigration depots.
"The only time depots experienced congestion was during the Covid-19 pandemic period was when we couldn't deport the detainees.
"Currently, there are 19 depots with 13,000 occupants. Where is the congestion? There is none," he added.
Saifuddin assured that immigrants detained in immigration depots undergo document verification, and those with valid documents are released.
"Currently, there are many raids, but upon analysis, we found that roughly 80 percent of detainees were well documented, and only about 20 percent are illegals and those are detained. If their documents are valid, we release them," he added.
