CNI News
15 Nov 2022
Many of the Myanmar nationals who were detained for various charges and have served their terms in prisons and camps in Malaysia are facing difficulty returning home, Myanmar communities in Malaysia told the CNI.
They have remained in camps and detention centres as they have lost contacts with families in Myanmar or their friends in Malaysia and they cannot afford air tickets while the Myanmar embassy in Malaysia have been able to send only a few of them back, the communities told the CNI.
U Babu Gyi, who has been offering assistance to Myanmar nationals in Malaysia, told the CNI, "There is a large number of them in crowded camps and detention centres in Malaysia. They have lost contact with their relatives and friends and no one pays for their air tickets. They have faced difficulty returning h and some of them have been stranded there for months. I can help only a few of them because I cannot afford air tickets for all of them because it costs me Ringgit 900 to buy a ticket. I am just an ordinary worker here. If they had passports and NRCs, it would be easier to contact their families."
Hundreds of them are stranded in each camp and detention centre in Malaysia.
Their personal data are required to submit to the Myanmar Embassy in Malaysia, which will issue a certificate of identity after the data have proved to be true and correct.
A prison in Malaysia and a police van.
As they are required to pay Ringgit 900 for air tickets after their data have proved to be true and correct, the process takes a long time and their returns have been delayed, Myanmar communities in Malaysia told the CNI.
As a result, camps and detention centres in Malaysia are crowded with Myanmar nationals.
U Babu Gyi said, "Those who afford ticket fares can return home after they have contacted their families. Moreover, there are many people with the same names. Recently, I went to see a Myanmar woman in a prison but she was not the woman I wanted to see. She has the same name with the woman I wanted to see.
Now, I am looking for a man but there were three people who has the same name as him in the prison. I didn't know which of them was the person I will have to recommend. We have a lot of difficulties offering assistance to them.
Migrants detained in a detention centre in Malaysia.
Daily arrests in Malaysia make prisons and camps there more crowded with illegal migrants, many of whom are suffering from health issues including diarrhea and depression.
Therefore, it is necessary for the Myanmar Embassy in Malaysia to carry out the identification process faster, General Secretary U Chit Kaung of the Association for Assistance of Myanmar Migrant Workers in Malaysia told the CNI.
He said, "In embassies of other countries, they set up teams composed of lawyers, one or two embassy officials to help their citizens who were detained and to reduce their penalties and to return home as soon as possible. If Myanmar authorities set up such teams to help Myanmar migrants as soon as they were arrested, it will be faster and easier for Myanmar migrants to get home without delays."
In the past, the Myanmar Embassy in Malaysia often arranged free flights for those who cannot afford air tickets to bring them back home but it has not been able to do so recently, according to Myanmar communities in Malaysia.
