In a worrying Facebook post made by local NGO Tenaganita, it was revealed that two Filipino toddlers below the age of two have been held at the Bukit Jalil Immigration Detention Centre since 14th June.
The two young children were reportedly detained by the Malaysian Immigration Department after a raid at the Plaza Indah Apartment in Kajang on 14th June. An excerpt from Tenaganita’s post reads,
“At that time, the toddlers, who are undocumented, were in the care of a relative; the mothers who have valid visas were not at home.”
Source: Reuters
Since the raid, the toddlers have remained in the detention centre despite interventions from the Philippines Embassy and the Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development.
Meanwhile, the mothers of the two children were told that they can bring their children back to the Philippines with them if they have travel documents issued by the Philippines Embassy.
“Tenaganita has been reliably informed that the Embassy is ready to provide the travel documents once the deportation papers for the babies have been received from the immigration department,” Tenaganita stated.
Source: Global News
“According to the Investigation Officer from the Investigation and Enforcement Unit of the Immigration Department, the deportation order and other necessary documents have been prepared and sent to Bukit Jalil immigration detention centre on 27 June.”
Tenaganita also pointed out that the continued detention of these toddlers is against Article 37b and c of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child as well as the Child Act 2001. Demanding for the young children’s immediate release, the organisation ended their statement saying,
“The babies have been deprived of the care of their mothers and held in less than hospitable conditions for the last 20 days with no end in sight to their plight.”
“We would, therefore, urge that this matter be treated with urgency and that the babies be handed over to the custody of their mothers or any shelters which is better equipped to care for the toddlers/babies until the immigration department is able to provide the necessary documents for the babies to be deported.”
In an update on the situation, the Immigration Department’s head director, Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud, stated that the two children will be sent home today (3rd July). He was quoted by Astro Awani as saying,
“They were temporarily detained because documentation arrangements with the Filipino authorities took some time.”
Addressing Tenaganita’s statement, the head director denied that the children were kept in unsafe conditions, saying the children’s basic needs were met. He also shared a photo of the environment in which the two toddlers were being held.
Source: Astro Awani
Whatever it is, let’s hope the two children are released and returned to their mothers as soon as possible.
Also read: This 14yo Cambodian Girl Was Promised a Job & Education in M’sia But She Became a Slave Instead
