KUALA LUMPUR, April 5 — Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said today that no Human Rights Watch (HRW) representative has come forward to hold a meeting with him over allegations of abuse at immigration detention depots.

He added that his ministry has stated its intention to meet the non-governmental organisation (NGO) face to face to answer those allegations but has yet to receive any feedback from HRW.

Saifuddin Nasution said that HRW had issued an unreasonable report as the Immigration Department always did it best to ensure the welfare of detainees housed in detention depots and has compromised even with those who overstayed.

“There are illegal immigrants from the Philippines and the United States (US) who have long been in this country, like eight to nine years.

“For instance, when asked, they say they are US citizens, but when checked with the US embassy, they do not acknowledge the detainee,” he said in a media conference at an Immigration Department event at the Bukit Jalil Immigration Detention Depot here tonight, adding that even though their identities remained unknown, the Immigration Department still looked after them,

“Suddenly, there’s a HRW report claiming we are abusive. If they really want to protect human rights, help us manage them better. This is what HRW should assist us with,” he said.

According to Saifuddin, there are 20 immigration depots in the country with a capacity of 20,450 detainees, but as of March 31, the number of detainees housed at depots are at 13,530 people, well under capacity.

On government expenses for depot detainees, he said RM122,645,458.48 was issued for repatriation costs, utilities management, food, drink and basic necessities.

“The government also has prepared RM209.2 million in allocations to upgrade the detention depot at Lenggeng, Negeri Sembilan; Pekan Nanas, Johor; Bekenu, Sarawak; Sandakan and Tawau in Sabah, which are expected to be completed by June 9.

“The upgrades include security fences, closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras, and security alarms for the purpose of monitoring control,” he added. — Bernama