The recent ABC news report, again re-affirms SUHAKAM's statement that "...medical care as an overriding reason why 1,300 detainees have died over the past six years..." It was also clarified "...that the 1,300 deaths notified to parliament covered not only immigration detention centres but prisons and police lock-ups..."
Malaysia detention centres 'violating rights' (ABC News, 28/5/2009)
Malaysia detention centres 'violating rights'
By Kanaha Sabapathy for Radio Australia (28/5/2009)
The recent deaths of two illegal immigrants in one of Malaysia's many detention centres has raised the issue of the conditions under which detainees are held in the country.
Last year Suhakam, Malaysia's Human Rights Commission, identified medical care as an overriding reason why 1,300 detainees have died over the past six years.
Now two Burmese immigration detainees have died from leptospirosis, a disease caused by exposure to contaminated water.
Dato Siva Subramaniam, a Suhakam commissioner, told Radio Australia's Connect Asia program denial of health care was a violation of detainees' right to life.
"At present the 22 centres throughout Malaysia do not have a permanent clinical dispensary manned by doctors or a medical assistant to help detainees," he said.
"They have a visiting doctor only."
He noted that the 1,300 deaths notified to parliament covered not only immigration detention centres but prisons and police lock-ups.
Nevertheless, "we want improvement", the commissioner said.
He said Suhakam had identified health care and hygiene, including proper water supplies for detainees, as key issues at the centres, which are overseen by immigration officers.
New diseases
"Suhakam wants to ensure there is medical care, that there is a permanent doctor placed, and we want this to be done in every camp," the commissioner said.
With new diseases such as swine flu breaking out in the region, each inmate should undergo a proper medical check before they are put together with other detainees, he said.
Their embassies should also be notified.
Another problem was too many inmates in centres.
"The problem of overcrowding is something we need to be looked seriously at," he said.
Source: ABC News
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3 comments:
a or ask Australia to fund us for the medical care. If they take the risk to run away from their country, they should face the risk that these thing will happen. Malaysia is not a developed country. We only have limited resources which should be used for Malaysian only. Australia, US and UK should give us money to run the medical services for the refugee.
Can we not see them as human beings? It irks me that some just consider them as 'foreigners' - non citizens, and as such we Malaysian human persons should not be concerned or bothered that they DIE because they did not have access to healthcare.
nckeat88 should follow the principle 'Do unto others what you would want others to do unto you'
We, as human beings, as Malaysians, must lead by example by our concern for all human persons - all God's creatures.
Further, they were in Detention Places - and it is certainly the obligations of the detaining authority to ensure that their health is looked after.
Remember, we are not just talking about 'foreigners'. We also have cases of Malaysians who died earlier than they should by reason of slow or no access to healthcare. Lourdes Mary (Malaysian) was just one case. We remember also Uthayakumar..and maybe even Anwar Ibrahim - the lucky ones that may have died or suffered permanent injury...
We live in an interdependent world - and when we make it difficult for migrants/foreigners to access and get necessary healthcare - the risk of others getting ill also increases.
I advocate that free basic healthcare should be accorded to all persons in Malaysia, and similarly this should be promoted all over the world.
A Malaysian in a foreign land, who requires a hefty deposit, may result on that Malaysian not being able to afford healthcare ...and may die. In Malaysia today foreigners also have to pay a hefty deposit to get healthcare from Malaysian hospitals - and until they come up with the money, they are kept waiting..or just sent away because they could not come up with the money..
A foreigner without a passport is 'turned away' until he can present his original passport with a valid visa...Hence, those without documentation can get no healthcare...and they can die.
And, this is so wrong...
"A Malaysian in a foreign land, who requires a hefty deposit, may result on that Malaysian not being able to afford healthcare ...and may die. In Malaysia today foreigners also have to pay a hefty deposit to get healthcare from Malaysian hospitals - and until they come up with the money, they are kept waiting..or just sent away because they could not come up with the money..
A foreigner without a passport is 'turned away' until he can present his original passport with a valid visa...Hence, those without documentation can get no healthcare...and they can die."
You are very wrong! Just go to any DBKL clinic, 40-50% of the pregnant mothers under follow up are foreigners especially the myan mese. They don't pay a single sen. Just go and ask any doctor in public hospitals, ALL foreigners will be treated regardless they got money or documents or not. This is the truth, the foregners especially the the economy refugee is slowly consuming our resources.
Again I wish to emphasize that the foreigners DO NOT NEED to put down a hefty deposit in order to get public health care. They just need to pay RM2 (100% of local rate) or free for those UNHCR refugee. As for A&E and in patient treatment, they can choose not to pay but healthcare workers in public hospital do not have to right to reject them. This deprive the locals from decent healthcare in our overloaded healthcare system.
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