KAJANG, June 3 — The government is rounding up migrants to vaccinate them for Covid-19 as they would refuse to do so otherwise, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said today following backlash over the Immigration Department’s move amid the total lockdown.

Despite that, the minister also said that those who were detained will not receive the vaccination if they are undocumented, as their identity cannot be ascertained otherwise.

"I want to state here, that we cannot give vaccines to those who are undocumented. I want to ask all those in front of me.

"I think those in front of me have registered, right? To get the vaccine, right? How did you register? There was identification, am I right? There was identity. So for those who are undocumented, how are we to give them the vaccine?” Hamzah asked the press after visiting the Beranang Satellite Prison and Immigration Depot.

A general view of the temporary Beranang Satellite Prison and Immigration Depot, June 3, 2021. — Picture by Shafwan Zaidon

Hamzah justified the move as one to also protect the interest of Malaysians.

"I want to protect our people. That’s why we do this operation, so that when we have detained them, we can give vaccine to these people. If we do not catch them, we cannot be certain that as to whether they would come out or not,” he added.

Hamzah said that the government operation is the best way, as those who have employers or sponsors here can help them, via a cooperation with the government.

"So we can cooperate with their employers, go to their embassies, get the legit documents and then we give them the vaccine. This is what we want to do, he said.

Hamzah said that such people would not reveal themselves otherwise, and questioned if their employers too would do the needful by bringing them out.

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin previously gave an assurance that the government would not detain any undocumented worker willing to undergo the inoculation scheme.

Last month, he said he would discuss with Hamzah ways to vaccinate migrants without legitimate documents.

When asked about the assurances made by Khairy, Hamzah said he told the former who is also the coordinating minister for the National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme the same thing during their discussion.

"When we discussed with YB Khairy, I informed him that I want them to have sponsors. Meaning, let their employers bring them, and if they have employers but do not have legitimate documents, we help them to get the papers.

"For those who are gallivanting around under no one’s supervision, how are we to ask them to come out? So I ask the rakyat to help me. Rakyat tells us that there is someone or a family whom they truly know, identify to be foreigners without documents, then we go,” he added.

Hamzah said the government is already having a hard time tracing undocumented migrants and added that many programmes to help them had proven futile as there were not many who answered the amnesty and recalibration programmes.

"So meaning, these people will never come out. So how do we give vaccines to those who do not want to come out?” he asked again.

On the plight of stateless Malaysians, Hamzah said that many of them fall under certain categories and the Home Ministry is working with several other ministries to help the said group.

"We are working together with them to ensure those people whom we help via the Welfare Department, and there are many who have taken them as adopted children. All of them, we will give documents to get vaccines in our country,” he added.