AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL MALAYSIA: RELA Bill will worsen the climate of arbitrary law enforcement

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL MALAYSIA
PRESS STATEMENT

5 July 2007

RELA Bill will worsen the climate of arbitrary law enforcement

Amnesty International Malaysia expresses serious concerns over the
recent news highlighted in the media on the 26 June 2007 that the Home
Affairs Ministry plans to restructure the civilian volunteer body RELA
into a separate department with greater authority and even powers to
source out its own funding.

The ministry stated that RELA's main task once the bill is passed will
be to catch illegal immigrants and to help the immigration and police.
The Ministry is planning to table the Bill on RELA in parliament this
year which will make RELA as a full fledge law enforcement department.

Amnesty International fears that the proposed bill to empower RELA with
further enforcement powers will legitimize and strengthen the powers of
arrest; search and detention functions of a body which has been known to
act arbitrary and in an overzealous manner. This will worsen the current
climate of arbitrary law enforcement in Malaysia and will increase the
abuse of power and human rights violations.

Current under the law RELA has very wide and discretionary powers. This
includes powers to stop any person by the standard of reasonable belief
that the person is a terrorist, undesirable person, illegal immigrant or
an occupier in order to make inquiries and to arrest these persons
without warrant. They have also been given powers to enter and search
any premises without a warrant and to carry arms. Recent incidents have
shown that RELA officers have arrested and detained persons on their own
without an oversight mechanism of a competent authority.

AI Malaysia strongly objects the enforcement powers provided to RELA
contained in the proposed bill. We believe that law enforcement work
that involves powers to arrest, search and detain must be only be given
to competent and specially trained full time authorities coupled with
clear provision in terms of powers and accountability. This is due to
the fact that these powers can affect fundamental liberties and the
freedom of a human being. Therefore these powers should not be extended
to a volunteer civilian body with poorly trained, part time members.
They must be limited to the police and Immigration officials with clear
guidelines and accountability mechanisms.

We are concerned about the powers given to RELA to secure its own
funding which will make the department to function as a "private
enforcement" body, hence become vulnerable to corrupt practices.

We are also concerned that the proposed Bill shows the tendency on the
part of the government to employ an approach of arbitrary arrest and
detention as the first and only solution to address any particular
situation. It also highlights the continued use of "emergency laws" for
enforcement which has contributed to systematic human rights violation
in this country.

Josef Roy Benedict
Executive Director
Amnesty International Malaysia

E6, 3rd Floor, Bangunan Khas,
Jalan 8/1E, 46050 Petaling Jaya,
Selangor, Malaysia
Tel : 03-79552680
Fax: 03-79552682
Email : aimalaysia@aimalays ia.org
Website : http://www.aimalaysia.org

Death of a Migrant Worker - Anil Netto (malaysiakini)

Death of a migrant worker

Anil Netto Jun 29, 07 12:53pm

He died a lonely death in a budget hotel room in downtown George Town earlier this month, far away from home. The death went unreported in the local media and unnoticed by most Malaysians. But what drove this worker from India in his mid-20s to take his life, assuming there was no foul play? Undertakers told IPS that the death certificate indicated the cause of death as hanging. His body was sent home to India on Jun 10. It was over a year ago that Vipin V Nair arrived in Malaysia with others from Kerala and Tamil Nadu states in southern India to work in a multinational contract manufacturing services firm in the southern Malaysian state of Johor. The firm employs some 300 workers from India, about 50 of them from Kerala state. The Kerala workers told IPS that they were promised by recruitment agents in India a basic monthly wage of RM650 (US$190) plus overtime once they arrived in Malaysia. Many of them had to fork out close to Rs 100,000 (US$2,500) each as fees to agents in India acting on behalf of Malaysian agents. Some of the workers pledged their properties, others borrowed from money lenders or relatives. But when they arrived in Malaysia, they were shocked to find that the basic monthly wage was only RM420 (US$120) plus overtime - an all too common predicament for migrant workers here. 'Vipin was crying' Complaints among migrant workers include unpaid wages, wages less than what had been promised and job descriptions different from what had been told to the workers in their home countries, said Florida Sandanasamy, programme officer with the migrants' rights group Tenaganita. In one case she highlighted, a group of farmers from Punjab was asked to climb a cable tower to do some repair work. "We must have a standardised contract and this must be attested to by the respective embassies and high commissions,'' Sandanasamy said. "The Indian high commission, for instance, does not have a list of Indian workers in Malaysia nor do they know how many are working here.'' ‘‘Vipin was crying (in his heart) when he first arrived,'' a colleague from Kerala recalled, as it dawned on him and his fellow migrant workers they would have to work at least two years before they could save enough to cover the agents' fees that they had paid in India. By the time the workers pay for their living expenses, send money to their families in India there is little left over. The work was also a lot tougher than what they had been told. ‘‘It is extremely hot,'' another worker told IPS. ‘‘We cannot bear it.'' Vipin was one of the more fortunate ones, working in the air-conditioned machining section. Still, it was all a far cry from what the agents in Chennai, Bangalore and Kerala had promised them. ‘‘They (agents) told different stories to different people,'' said a colleague. ‘‘The workers were told that they would be working in an air-conditioned environment (only certain parts of the plant are air-conditioned), that it was a simple job and easy work. But when they came here, they found themselves trapped,'' he said. Employers retain their workers' passports, making it very difficult for them to return home before the end of their three-year contract period. Moreover, if the workers want to leave, they are often asked to immediately repay in full the annual foreign workers' levy that their employer pays to the government, which is usually recovered through the monthly wage deductions of around RM120 (US$35). Workers are also reluctant to return home earlier than scheduled because many of them are heavily indebted at home, having borrowed money to pay the agents' fees. Generally, many of them are afraid to complain as they may be sent back or asked to absorb the costs incurred, without any breakdown being given. The colleague told IPS that Vipin had wanted to look for another job elsewhere in Malaysia through "a friend" - which is usually not allowed as work permits tie the workers down to a specific employer. In Vipin's case, he had to pay his employer a sum of money to retrieve his passport before he left the firm. A company spokesman said Vipin had wanted to go on a short holiday and the money for the passport was collected as a deposit or guarantee. Whatever the case, ''he was very happy when leaving,'' said the colleague. Cheated by agents Vipin left the firm in Johore before the end of May. A few days later he was found dead in the hotel in Penang. What happened in between is unclear. ''Put it this way, I am not surprised,'' Ruth Paul of the Migrant Workers' Support Centre on mainland Penang said of Vipin's hanging. Migrant workers from India who are already in Malaysia are more vulnerable to exploitation and cheating than other nationalities, she told IPS. ''In some cases, they are cheated a second time by local Indian Malaysians who prey on these workers and promise them a better job and better salary only for them to be dumped, duped or exploited,'' said Paul. ‘'When the workers go and complain or bring their plight to their superiors' attention, they are threatened or beaten. Or they run away (and become undocumented or "illegal"). The majority of such workers from India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Vietnam who are caught by the authorities are those who have been outsourced and cheated by agents on both sides,'' Paul said. "The workers are brought in using one company's name - actually, an agent in the guise of a RM2 company - and then they are outsourced,'' said lawyer Latheefa Koya (right), who has taken up cases on behalf of deained migrant workers. ''Under Malaysia's new trafficking laws, workers without proper documents because they have been cheated or deceived by agents - who had come here thinking they are doing something legal but instead end up working in an illegal situation - would be considered victims of trafficking,'' she said. If they make a police report, the police have to take action under the trafficking law. Meanwhile, a debate is raging over whether Malaysia, which introduced the law in April, deserves to be blacklisted by the United States in its latest annual ‘Trafficking in Persons Report' for not doing enough to fight human trafficking. Malaysia was placed in Tier 3, among the worst offenders, triggering sharp protests from senior Malaysian government officials. Whatever the real cause of Vipin's death, the workers' dreams of saving up enough from their work in Malaysia have been shattered. And they remain unaware about Malaysia's efforts, or lack of them, in anti-trafficking. ''Many of us just want to return home to India,'' said Vipin's dejected colleague. - IPS

URGENT APPEAL: 228 BURMESE ASYLUM SEEKERS ARRESTED BY RELA

Urgent appeal:

25 June 2007

228 Burmese Asylum Seekers and Refugees Arrested by RELA

SUARAM is informed that 228 asylum seekers and refugees from Burma were arrestedin an operation by the Malaysian Immigration and RELA (People's Voluntary Corps)raid today (25 June 2007).

About 2.00am, the joint force raided the Chin RefugeeCentre and Chin communities at Jalan Imbi and Jalan San Peng, Kuala Lumpur.Most of the detainees are recognised as refugees by the United Nations HighCommission of Refugees (UNHCR). Among them, 30 people are underaged, 5 pregnantwomen and 10 people who will be sent to United State of America tomorrow forresettlement.

Chin refugee leader, Philemon was also among those arrested.For the time being, the 10 refugees who will be resettled to USA together withPhilemon, have been released after pressure for Human Rights groups.

Remaining117 people had been sent to Lenggeng detention camp while another 100 had beensent to Semenyih detention camp.SUARAM condemns the arrest and calls for the immediate release of all thearrested asylum seekers, especially those UNHCR refugee card holders and women.

As an elected member of the UN Human Rights Council, the Malaysian governmentshould respect the right of refugees in accordance to international human rightslaw.

We urge you to protest the arbitrary arrest by writing to:

Dato' Seri Abdullah bin Haji Ahmad Badawi
Prime Minister and Minister of Internal Security
Prime Minister's Office
MalaysiaPerdana Putra Building,
Federal Government Administrative Centre,
62502 PUTRAJAYA,Selangor, Malaysia.

Tel : + 60 3 8888 6000
Fax : + 60 3 8888 3444

Datuk Radzi Sheikh Ahmad,
Minister of Home Affairs,
Level 12, Block D1, Parcel D,
Federal Government Administrative Centre,
62546 PUTRAJAYA.

Tel: +60 3 8886 8000
Fax: +60 3 8889 1613

Tuan HJ. Wahid Bin MD Don,
Director-General of Immigration Department

Dato' Ishak Mohamed,
Enforcement Director of Immigration Department
Director General Office
Immigration Department of Malaysia,
Level 1-7 (Podium) Block 2G-4,
Precint 2,
Federal Government Administration Centre,
62550 Putrajaya,
Tel: +60 3 8880 1000
Fax: +60 3 8880 1200

Encik Zaidon Bin Haji Asmuni,
RELA Director General,
RELA Malaysia Headquarters,
Level 6, Block D2, Parcel D,
Federal Government Administrative Centre,
62546 Putrajaya.

Tel: +60 3 88863354/ 88863097/ 88886298/ 88886308
Fax: +60 3 88886314/ 88886317/ 88886316/ 88886309

Probe May 13 riots, police told (Malaysiakini)

Probe May 13 riots, police told

Wednesday, 20 June 2007

Joyce Tagal and Su Hui Hsing (Malaysiakini) A lawyer has filed a police report calling for an investigation into the May 13, 1969 riots which left more than 100 dead and scores others injured. N Surendran (photo:right) lodged the report with the Brickfields police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur this morning. The report is based on the revelation of new information pertaining to the riots in a book titled May 13: Declassified Documents on the Malaysian Riots of 1969 published last month. Penned by academic Dr Kua Kia Soong, the book, which is based on recently declassified documents from London, claimed that Umno played a major role in the riots. It also stated that the military and police had practiced racial favouritism during their peacekeeping efforts. In his report, Surendran urged the police to look into these alleged criminal actions by the police, military and the government, including the late former premier Tun Abdul Razak. "The parties must be implicated, brought to court and charged, no matter how old they are," he told reporters later. He said if the police failed to act, he would raised the matter with the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) or even obtain a court order. 'We want justice' Accompanying him was PKR supreme council member S Manikavasagam. "Since the book is not banned, the contents must be true," said the opposition politician, who also called for a police investigation. Meanwhile, Surendran said the new information in the book was the reason behind his decision to file the police report. "For the first time, Malaysians are looking at these documents. Now it is time for the truth to come out,” he said, referring to declassified documents from the London Public Service Records office. Surendran also urged the government not to be frightened by the documents and to uphold transparency since it is a matter that affects all Malaysian citizens. "People have been speaking in whispers since 1969. This is important for nation-building. We cannot be an united nation until things like this are brought to light. “All Malaysians will be happy if they see justice done and the victims of the riots compensated, he continued. What we want is justice, justice for Malaysians,” he said.

Star: Hourly allowance to replace RM80 Rela incentive

Wednesday June 6, 2007

Hourly allowance to replace RM80 Rela incentive

By SA’ODAH ELIAS

PUTRAJAYA: The RM80 that the Government pays for each illegal worker caught by Rela members is being scrapped.

Instead, the Government will pay members of the 500,000-strong volunteer group an hourly allowance for each operation they are involved in.

According to a source, the Government decided to do away with the incentive payment introduced three years ago because it was unfair to Rela members and it had created an unwarranted controversy.

He said the RM80 per illegal worker payment worked out to a paltry sum for members taking part in any operation, although the media has cited this as the main reason or an incentive for Rela members to commit “atrocities” against undocumented workers, just so that they could collect a bigger bounty.

“Do your mathematics. Every operation against illegal workers will involve at least 200 Rela members. The number of undocumented workers detained in each operation varies, but it is usually fewer than 50.

“Thus the final payment, when equally shared among those involved in each operation, works out to be very little.

“As such, the Government feels that it is fairer to pay Rela officers an allowance each time they are involved in an operation, as acknowledgement of their service and contribution,” the source added.

Meanwhile, Rela director-general Datuk Zaidon Asmuni confirmed that the Government has agreed to pay an allowance of RM4 per hour for ordinary Rela members and RM5.80 per hour for officers each time they took part in an operation.

“Once this allowance comes into effect, expected to be soon, the RM80 payment per illegal worker will no longer be an issue,” he told The Star.

Zaidon said that irrespective of the number of hours Rela members were involved in an operation, they could only claim for up to eight hours for each operation.

He also said calls for Rela to be disbanded because of alleged abuse of power in a few isolated cases were unfair.

Star: Hourly allowance to replace RM80 Rela incentive

Wednesday June 6, 2007

Hourly allowance to replace RM80 Rela incentive

By SA’ODAH ELIAS

PUTRAJAYA: The RM80 that the Government pays for each illegal worker caught by Rela members is being scrapped.

Instead, the Government will pay members of the 500,000-strong volunteer group an hourly allowance for each operation they are involved in.

According to a source, the Government decided to do away with the incentive payment introduced three years ago because it was unfair to Rela members and it had created an unwarranted controversy.

He said the RM80 per illegal worker payment worked out to a paltry sum for members taking part in any operation, although the media has cited this as the main reason or an incentive for Rela members to commit “atrocities” against undocumented workers, just so that they could collect a bigger bounty.

“Do your mathematics. Every operation against illegal workers will involve at least 200 Rela members. The number of undocumented workers detained in each operation varies, but it is usually fewer than 50.

“Thus the final payment, when equally shared among those involved in each operation, works out to be very little.

“As such, the Government feels that it is fairer to pay Rela officers an allowance each time they are involved in an operation, as acknowledgement of their service and contribution,” the source added.

Meanwhile, Rela director-general Datuk Zaidon Asmuni confirmed that the Government has agreed to pay an allowance of RM4 per hour for ordinary Rela members and RM5.80 per hour for officers each time they took part in an operation.

“Once this allowance comes into effect, expected to be soon, the RM80 payment per illegal worker will no longer be an issue,” he told The Star.

Zaidon said that irrespective of the number of hours Rela members were involved in an operation, they could only claim for up to eight hours for each operation.

He also said calls for Rela to be disbanded because of alleged abuse of power in a few isolated cases were unfair.

SPECIAL REPORT: We want more power (Malaysiakini)

SPECIAL REPORT: We want more power

Jun 4, 07 11:28am

It''s not enough. If he had his way, People’s Volunteer Corps (Rela) director-general Zaidon Asmuni would like to see the body equipped with even wider powers than it now holds. “We want not only the power to check passports and travel documents. If you ask me, we want more than that. We want the power to investigate and prosecute in court,” he said in an exclusive interview with malaysiakini. Find out more in this three-part special report. Part 1 Rela chief: Give us more power Q&A: We act within the law Part 2 Suhakam: Rela still needed Part 3 'They came with batons and lock-cutters'

Rela chief: Give us more power

Andrew Ong May 29, 07 12:16pm

exclusive If he had his way, People’s Volunteer Corps (Rela) director-general Zaidon Asmuni would like to see the body equipped with even wider powers than it now holds. “We want not only the power to check passports and travel documents. If you ask me, we want more than that. We want the power to investigate and prosecute in court,” he said in an interview. “But who am I to ask for this? We just follow decisions made by the top. For now, we will follow whatever is stated in the law.” Zaidon, formerly the Pahang Immigration Department director, believes that Rela is an unique enforcement body because of its sheer numbers. At last count, it had 475,000 members nationwide. “(As an immigration officer) whenever I conducted a raid, the most I could bring along was about 20 officers. For 20 people to cordon off a big kongsi (housing for construction workers) which may contain 100 illegal immigrants, the number of arrests would be low,” he explained. “Rela can call up 300 members. I think not even one (illegal immigrant) can run (away from the raid). The uniqueness of Rela lies in our large numbers.” Zaidon was also asked to respond to questions on the screening of recruits, use of guns and alleged human rights violations, among other issues that have caused controversy. There is growing criticism by human rights groups and the Bar Council that Rela personnel are abusing their powers and are involved in violence. Rela, an agency under the home ministry, was created under the Essential (Ikatan Relawan Rakyat) Regulations 1972 which provide the power of arrest, entry into premises without a permit and to carry firearms. No disciplinary system Following amendments in March 2005, Rela’s “core business” has become nabbing illegal immigrants through raids led by either the district Rela officer or his deputy - who are former members of the armed forces. District Rela officers are given blanket approval to seek out and detain illegal immigrants, with operations often conducted at night both for the element of surprise and because many personnel hold day jobs. “It’s done by calling (up personnel on the phone). We don’t have (to do paperwork) to carry out an operation. We don’t plan (over a) long (period) because we want to keep operations as secretive as possible.” Zaidon also revealed that after every operation, the district Rela officer has to lodge a cover report with the police, regardless of whether or not any arrests were made. Unlike other enforcement bodies, Rela does not subject its personnel to disciplinary action in the event of complaints. Those found to have abused their powers are stripped of membership. “We cannot take (errant) members to court... If the Rela member commits a crime, it is up to the police to investigate under the Penal Code,” Zaidon added.

Malaysiakini: Worker's Death Exposes Slave-Like Conditions

Worker's death exposes slave-like conditions

Anil Netto May 17, 07 1:07pm

The shocking torture and death of an Indian national allegedly at the hands of his employers in Malaysia has highlighted the lack of protection and support networks for migrant workers in this country. The brutalised body of R Ganesh was flown back to Tamil Nadu state in India, one day after Malaysian workers observed Labour Day. Three suspects - sauce factory owner T Rajan, his wife M Ganeswari, and their 20-year-old son Vijaar - have been charged with culpable homicide not amounting to murder. The case will be heard in court on June 5. Ganesh was reportedly subjected to daily beatings, deprived of food and sufficient rest, and chained and locked in a dark room. He was eventually dumped in a wooded area, but was found by villagers who sent him to hospital. He succumbed to his injuries on April 27. Pictures of his gaunt face, the horrendous bruises on his back and his protruding rib cage shocked Malaysians. In hospital, he was little more than a bag of blistered skin and bones. Ganesh's may have been an extreme case, but it suggests that a poor regulatory framework and lack of a support network may have contributed to his ordeal and his inability to escape from his dire situation. In most cases, the balance of power in the relationship between employers and migrant workers is extremely lop-sided; most migrant workers are frequently at the mercy of their employers. While many Malaysian employers treat their migrant workers with varying degrees of decency, there are others who are abusive or exploitative towards their workers who often have little recourse to protection. Work permits often specify or bind them to a single employer and their passports are usually held by the employers or agents, further restricting the workers' freedom of movement. Premier assurance There are fears that a proposed Foreign Workers' Bill would restrict foreign workers to their living quarters, although Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has given an assurance that the workers' freedom of movement would not be restricted under the new law. Even if they were able to, most migrant workers are reluctant to return home earlier than scheduled because of the huge loans they have taken to finance their trip to Malaysia in the first place. There are other deterrents. If at all they run away from their employers, without their passports or new work permits they are deemed to be undocumented or "illegal" migrants. They are then the targets of crackdowns by enforcement personnel or the uniformed volunteer vigilante group, Rela, which has often been accused of high-handed methods in rounding up undocumented migrants. Once caught, undocumented workers are usually sent to immigration detention centres where conditions leave much to be desired. Courts at these centres sometimes impose a whipping sentence and those found guilty are eventually deported. All the immigration centres are reportedly overcrowded. A commissioner with the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) told the press that Suhakam's recent visit to the Tanah Merah detention centre on the east coast revealed that over 600 migrant workers were housed in a space meant for 400. One doctor who has treated undocumented migrants from a detention centre says some of them suffer from skin diseases and the effects of a poor diet, while others complain of a lack of sufficient drinking water. This appears to tally with the findings from interviews with deported workers conducted by rights group Tenaganita and civil society groups in the workers' country of origin, according to the Tenaganita programme coordinator Aegile Fernandez. In George Town, Penang, a visibly shaken young Indonesian domestic maid, Yati (not her real name), recently met IPS after running away from her employers the previous night. ''I was knocked on the head for the slightest mistake I made,'' she said, tearfully. ''I just could not take it any more; so, when I had the chance, I ran out of the house without thinking of taking any of my belongings.'' Without any money, her several months' wages still unpaid, no change of clothing, and most crucially, without her passport, which was probably held by her employer or the local recruitment agent, Yati was helpless. Yati eventually found her way to the Indonesian consulate in Penang, where every month some two to three dozen Indonesian maids seek refuge. The maids stay at the hostel there until they reach a negotiated settlement with their employers or are sent home. The numbers seeking refuge are higher in the national capital. Victims of trafficking Fernandez says an average of 150-200 migrant workers, the majority of them maids, seek refuge at the Indonesian embassy there every month. ''We put them under the category of 'bonded labour' and that falls under the category of trafficking,'' she said. That is a view shared by the Geneva-based International Organisation of Migration (IOM), an inter-governmental group promoting humane and orderly migration. Last year, the IOM began to help repatriate dozens of maids who lacked proper travel documents and were sheltering at the Indonesian consulate in Penang, it said in a press briefing note on its website. The IOM considers these women to be victims of trafficking although they had arrived in Malaysia using official international routes. The group noted that trafficking victims are exploited by unscrupulous labour agents and frequently subjected to physical, psychological and sexual abuse by their employers. ''They are particularly vulnerable when they enter countries illegally in search of employment, use forged papers or are forced to handover their legitimate travel documents.'' It is not just domestic maids who are at risk. An increasing trend is for outsourcing companies in Malaysia to hire workers from India and Bangladesh on behalf of 'principal firms', including multinational corporations, based in Malaysia. ''But once they come into the country, in many cases, they are not sent to the principal company and are instead placed in various locations doing temporary work,'' says an activist, who declined to be identified. In one case, he said, the workers had to work a few days in an oil palm plantation, next at a chicken farm, and then at a construction site. ''They were sent all around the country in groups.'' It is a shattering experience for these workers, many of whom had taken loans ranging from RM8,000 to RM13,000(US$2,300-3,800), often selling their homes and land to finance their trip here, he said. For her part, Yati, the runaway maid, is not interested in staying back to claim her unpaid wages. ''I just want to go home to my family'' - even if it means going home empty-handed. - IPS

Global rights watchdog: Disband Rela

Global rights watchdog: Disband Rela

May 9, 07 3:07pm

An international human rights watchdog said the Malaysian government should disband Rela (People's Volunteer Corps) on grounds of repeated complaints of abuse and unlawful behaviour towards migrant workers. Human Rights Watch (HRW) said in a statement today that it has documented many instances of such abuse this year alone including: • (April 5) Volunteers arrested some 20 Burmese refugees and asylum seekers at a market in Kuala Lumpur, of whom at least five had been officially recognised as refugees by the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). • (late March) Eight members of a team removed belongings worth RM1,800 from one dwelling and were detained on robbery charges • (March 8) An officer detained an Indian immigrant with identification certifying his legal status. It took four days for the worker's employer to obtain his release from a detention camp for illegal immigrants. • (March 6 and 7) Volunteers who were to have handed out flyers related to court orders helped a developer evict 50 families and tear down houses in Kampung Berembang. They operated bulldozers and were also alleged to have used excessive force. • (March 2) 10 volunteers raided a factory in Jenjarom, Selangor, injuring two Nepalese workers and detaining eight others. • (January 28) Rela raided in Kampung Sungai Merab, Denkil, resulting in the arbitrary arrest of 14 persons recognised as refugees by UNHCR. “Rela volunteers (who are) fully uniformed, armed and unaccompanied by police or immigration officers, often employ unnecessary force and illegal policing practices,” the HRW statement said. It also listed Rela’s modus operandi in, for example, breaking into migrant lodgings in the middle of the night without warrants and brutalising the occupants and extorting money from them. “(They also) confiscate cell phones, clothing, jewelry, and household goods, before handcuffing migrants and transporting them to detention camps for ‘illegal immigrants’,” it stated. Distinction ignored The organisation said Rela members have failed to distinguish or have deliberately ignored the distinction between undocumented immigrants, and refugees and asylum seekers. “At other times, volunteers have refused to recognise a worker's legitimate immigration status ... volunteers have been known to deliberately destroy identification cards proving a worker's right to be in Malaysia. “Rela's behavior has embarrassed the government into announcing some minor reforms but tinkering with raiding procedures or upgrading training will not get to the fundamental issue, which is that Rela should be disbanded.” Almost half a million volunteers are authorised to help maintain public order, primarily through the arrest of undocumented migrant workers. According to the home ministry, the role of Rela is “to help maintain security in the country and the well being of the people” as the eyes and ears of the government since 1972. However, in 2005, the corps was given more power to stop ‘any person suspected as terrorist, undesirable person, illegal immigrant or an occupier’. “The government has set up what's little more than a vigilante force to target foreigners. Given Rela's repeated abuses, it should be disbanded right away,” HRW added.