One year ago, the Malaysian government introduced Baitul Mahabbah, an initiative aimed at moving children aged 10 and under from general immigration detention centers to specialized facilities. Currently, there are 170 children, including some who are unaccompanied, in these centers. However, these facilities still do not offer a true alternative to detention.
Children, among the thousands of irregular migrants detained in Malaysia, are kept in conditions that expose them to physical abuse and psychological harm. In March, Human Rights Watch reported that Malaysia’s immigration system, with its harsh and punitive practices, breaches international human rights laws. This includes the widely accepted principle that detaining children is never in their best interest.
For over ten years, Malaysian officials have explored non-custodial, community-based alternatives to detention for children. Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution has stated that children should not be held in immigration depots. Despite this, the Baitul Mahabbah centers, established by the Home Ministry, continue to restrict children’s freedom.
In August, I visited the Baitul Mahabbah center near Kuala Lumpur International Airport, which had been repurposed from a former school. Around 50 ethnic Rohingya children, some unaccompanied, were held there under the watch of immigration officials and volunteer security personnel.
The Rohingya children and their mothers reported that conditions were an improvement over the main immigration depots but expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of visitor access and uncertainty about their release.
These women and children had previously faced violence and deprivation in refugee camps in Bangladesh and endured an apartheid-like system in Myanmar. They risked their lives to reach Malaysia. Currently, Malaysia hosts over 190,000 refugees and asylum seekers, including more than 109,000 Rohingya, registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The Malaysian government denies the UNHCR access to Baitul Mahabbah centers and other immigration depots to review asylum claims. Consequently, thousands of Rohingya refugees and asylum seekers are held indefinitely, unable to be deported.
Baitul Mahabbah should be viewed as a temporary solution. The Malaysian government needs to work with civil society groups to develop a comprehensive plan to release all children from immigration detention.