"Komnas HAM wants to urge for a more (humane) approach in responding to the situation of undocumented Indonesian migrant workers by pushing for better optimization of legalization programs instead of arrests," commissioner of Komnas HAM, Anis Hidayah, said at a press conference here on Thursday.
The press conference, hosted at the commission's office, was entitled "Studying Migrant Workers Overload Situation in Malaysian Detention Center Through Human Rights Perspective."
Hidayah said that arrests of workers have led to overcrowding in Malaysia's Immigration Detention Centers, which has caused issues such as limited access to healthcare and poor sanitation.
Hence, the commission has called for better legalization programs, one of which is recalibration, to prevent this from happening, she explained.
Recalibration is a program by the Malaysian Government to give amnesty to foreign workers who do not have permits.
Hidayah said she is confident that the initiative can prevent the overcrowding situation.
She also called for an alternative to the detention of children under 17 years old so as to protect their rights as children.
"We call for an alternative to detention for children, which considers the children's best interests," Hidayah said.
As for undocumented workers who have been sent home, an assessment of women and children's post-deportation recovery progress is necessary, she stated.
"It is also in their rights," she stressed.
Hidayah said that her administration and the Foreign Affairs Ministry have made efforts to bring back 2,959 migrant workers from Malaysian immigration detention centers.
Of the figure, 2,160 are men, 697 are women, and 102 are children under 17, she informed.
"Komnas HAM compels (everyone) to conduct efforts together, as soon as possible, to bring (them) back to Indonesia," she added.
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Translator: Putu Indah Savitri, Mecca Yumna
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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