Immigration dept defends volunteer corps

The Straits Times, May 11, 2007


KUALA LUMPUR - MALAYSIAN immigration officials yesterday defended a feared group of citizen volunteers which helps them round up illegal immigrants in the country.

This was after the New York-based Human Rights Watch labelled the group as 'abusive' and asked that it be disbanded.

In a statement on its website, Human Rights Watch accused the 500,000-strong volunteer citizen corps of, among other things, breaking into migrants' lodgings at night, beating them up and stealing from them before detaining them as illegal migrants.

Last month, for example, 10 volunteer officers were arrested for robbing Indonesian migrant workers.

Set up in 1972 to help keep the peace, the uniformed and armed volunteers - known by the name Rela, which means 'willing' in Malay - have legal immunity and are allowed to arrest people and ransack premises without a warrant.

The immigration department's enforcement director, Datuk Ishak Mohamed, downplayed the alleged abuses and said Rela was a big help in ridding Malaysia of illegals.

Yesterday, Rela's director-general Zaidon Asmuni told The New Straits Times that the corps should not be disbanded just because of 'a few bad hats'.

He added that Rela members involved in serious crimes such as extortion had been 'surrendered' to the police, while those who had committed 'minor crimes' such as theft had been disciplined.

These 'bad apples' no longer take part in raids, he added, and all in Rela are now being trained by Malaysia's Human Rights Commission here to handle such cases humanely.

They are now also subjected to body checks before and after raids to make sure they are not stealing or planting evidence.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, ASSOCIATED PRESS