KAJANG, April 15 — The Home Ministry (KDN) hopes to table a working paper to the Cabinet soon to shift children from immigration detention depots.

Its minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said currently, the ministry was in the final stage of collecting data on the number, age and locations of children detained at Immigration depots in the country.

He said that in completing the working paper, the ministry held several engagements with stakeholders and experts including Tan Sri Dr Jemilah Mahmood and Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar.

"Currently, there are a total of 1,030 children in 20 Immigration detention depots and they comprise 579 boys and 451 girls.

"Of the total, 351 of them are in the detention depot with their guardians,” he told a press conference at the sahur (pre-dawn meal) programme at the Semenyih Immigration Detention Depot, here early yesterday.

Saifuddin said the ministry always KDN always strives to look after the welfare of children who are in immigration detention depots by ensuring they have access to education and health, as well as be given appropriate treatment should they fall sick.

"So far, there are five immigration detention depots that provide classes for these children, including at Semenyih, Bukit Jalil Immigration Detention Depot, here, Pekan Nenas Immigration Detention Depot in Johor and Belantik Immigration Detention Depot in Kedah,” he said.

He said the classes were conducted by the staff of the immigration detention depot on a voluntary basis.

Meanwhile, Saifuddin said a total of 14,139 illegal immigrants had been deported between January and last April 12 and they comprised 10,625 adult men, 2,907 adult women, 364 boys and 243 girls.

According to nationalities, 5,571 of them are Indonesians, Myammar (3,285) and Filipinos (2,203), he added.

On the duration of stay of illegal immigrants at the immigration detention depot before their deportation, he said, it depends on how quickly the documentation can be completed by the country of origin.

"So far, Indonesia is the fastest country to provide documentation for its citizens who are detained here,” he added.

Also present was Immigration Department director-general Datuk Ruslin Jusoh. — Bernama