You are quite involved in refugee cases in Malaysia. Can you tell us more about this?
I first got involved in a refugee case in 2003, whereby I was instructed to assist a refugee who had been prosecuted in the Magistrate’s Court under section 6(1)(c) Immigration Act. He was not represented at the Magistrate’s Court and had pleaded guilty.
An application for revision was filed, heard and allowed by the High Court, whereby the conviction and sentence were set aside, and the matter remitted back to another Magistrate. The charge was subsequently withdrawn by the Public Prosecutor.
At present, we do not have any specific laws regulating or providing protection to refugees, albeit Malaysia has a long history of rendering humanitarian assistance to refugees such as the Vietnamese Boat-people and the Bosnians. Refugees by definition are victims of human rights violations. Refugees are commonly mistaken for undocumented migrant workers. They are not. Refugees are persons who, owing to a well founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.
Under international laws, a refugee, unlike an undocumented migrant worker, could not be sent back to his or her country of origin where he or she faces the risk of persecution. This principle is known as the non-refoulement principle.
Since a refugee is a person who flees his country of origin to avoid persecution, it would be akin to rubbing salt into an open wound if he is prosecuted and punished on account of his illegal entry into or presence in the country where he is seeking refuge.
It must be emphasised that the situation of a refugee differs from that of an ordinary alien, who holds a national passport and enjoys the protection of the authorities of his country, to which he may return if he so desires. This is not so in the case of a refugee. Having entered the country in an irregular manner, a refugee is immediately at odds with the authorities of the country of reception. A refugee does not enjoy the luxury of immigration through normal customary channels, and thus find himself compelled to seek asylum by irregular entry to a safe country.
The notion of seeking refuge is not something new. It has long been in existence and has been well documented in the Quran and the Bible. For instance, Prophet Moses had to lead his people across the Red Sea in order to avoid persecution from Pharoah Ramses II, and the Islamic calendar and civilization that we know of today existed due to the historical fact of ‘hijrah’ which is the event where Prophet Muhammad (Peace be Upon Him) fled from Makkah to seek shelter in Medina, in order to avoid persecution from the Quraish people.
An application for revision was filed, heard and allowed by the High Court, whereby the conviction and sentence were set aside, and the matter remitted back to another Magistrate. The charge was subsequently withdrawn by the Public Prosecutor.
At present, we do not have any specific laws regulating or providing protection to refugees, albeit Malaysia has a long history of rendering humanitarian assistance to refugees such as the Vietnamese Boat-people and the Bosnians. Refugees by definition are victims of human rights violations. Refugees are commonly mistaken for undocumented migrant workers. They are not. Refugees are persons who, owing to a well founded fear of being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion, is outside the country of his nationality and is unable or, owing to such fear, is unwilling to avail himself of the protection of that country.
Under international laws, a refugee, unlike an undocumented migrant worker, could not be sent back to his or her country of origin where he or she faces the risk of persecution. This principle is known as the non-refoulement principle.
Since a refugee is a person who flees his country of origin to avoid persecution, it would be akin to rubbing salt into an open wound if he is prosecuted and punished on account of his illegal entry into or presence in the country where he is seeking refuge.
It must be emphasised that the situation of a refugee differs from that of an ordinary alien, who holds a national passport and enjoys the protection of the authorities of his country, to which he may return if he so desires. This is not so in the case of a refugee. Having entered the country in an irregular manner, a refugee is immediately at odds with the authorities of the country of reception. A refugee does not enjoy the luxury of immigration through normal customary channels, and thus find himself compelled to seek asylum by irregular entry to a safe country.
No comments:
Post a Comment