SEPTEMBER 4 — Today marks a year since the Home Minister, YB Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution, launched the Baitul Mahabbah initiative, signalling his commitment to "remove the children from immigration depots so they can receive more humane care, in a more conducive environment”. Despite some measures to improve conditions, these centres continue to deprive children of their liberty, are governed by strict immigration laws and procedures, and thus constitute another form of detention.

As of July 2024, it was reported that there are 170 children in Baitul Mahabbah centres nationwide. There are no alternative exit plans for children in Baitul Mahabbah aside from repatriation. Some refugee children have remained in Baitul Mahabbah facilities for nearly a year, with no plans for their release. There has been no evaluation of any kind to determine whether these Baitul Mahabbah centres are actually beneficial to children’s wellbeing, and if they are an efficient use of resources. Yet, in August 2024, the Home Minister stated his intention to have 6 Baitul Mahabbah centres open by December 2024, and to establish at least 6 more centres in 2025.

Some of the children in Baitul Mahabbah have been held in detention for nearly a year, without accounting for the time they spent in detention before being relocated to Baitul Mahabbah. Children who have asylum claims are left in the dark as UNHCR Malaysia has no access to any detention centres, including Baitul Mahabbah centres, to verify their claims, and the immigration department does not have any screening mechanisms in place. Additionally, as Baitul Mahabbah is currently only for children age 10 and below, other children age 11-17 continue to remain in immigration detention centres with other adult detainees with no indication that they will be included in any future plans.

Detaining children in immigration depots or any other detention facilities, even with their parents or other family members, is never acceptable. Immigration detention and deprivation of liberty harms children mentally and physically. Clinical studies show the serious impact that even short periods of immigration detention can have on a child’s well-being, growth and development — and that these impacts can be lifelong. Detention of any form is never in a child’s best interest and is a violation of their rights.

As such, the EDN urges the Ministry of Home Affairs to release children from Baitul Mahabbah and other immigration detention centres, into community based alternatives to detention. This can be done by working with child protection organisations who are able to provide case management support and linkage to the refugee communities. The EDN also notes the absence of the Ministry of Women, Family, and Community Development (MWFCD) in the operations of Baitul Mahabbah and calls on MCWFCD to work in partnership with MoHA to protect the rights of children regardless of their background and immigration status, as per their constitutional duty, outlined in the Child Act 2001 and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC).

There has been collaboration between the Malaysian Government and civil society for over a decade to develop and implement community-based alternatives to detention for children in immigration detention centres. We call on MoHA to continue this effort and establish a working group with key civil society members to develop and trial a pilot to release children from Baitul Mahabbah into community settings and to conduct an independent evaluation of Baitul Mahabbah to bring it in line with the best interests of the child.

The Malaysian Government must invest fully in their commitment to uphold children’s rights and wellbeing, and deploy resources away from detention facilities, towards strengthening national child protection systems that provide community-based, non-institutional care and protection to refugee and migrant children. Globally, many countries have taken these necessary steps, and moved away from thinking around ‘child-friendly’ or ‘family-friendly’ detention facilities and towards ending child immigration detention altogether. This is the standard Malaysia must emulate to keep up and lead with its regional and global peers.

There is no such thing as "child-friendly” detention. Any form of detention is a violation of child rights. Children deserve their liberty. On this anniversary of Baitul Mahabbah’s establishment, the EDN urges the Malaysian Government to step up to our local and international commitments to uphold the best interests of children, release children into community-based alternatives to detention and stop the detention of children for immigration purposes. The EDN stands ready to support MoHA, MWFCD, broader government policymakers, and implementing staff to further their commitment to remove children from all immigration detention centres, and implement alternatives to detention.

* About EDN: The End Detention Network is a coalition of 21 civil society organisations and individuals working to ensure that no person is detained in Malaysia due to their immigration status.

For more information, please contact the End Detention Network Coordinator, endchilddetentionmy@gmail.com

** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.