Home minister says looking to improve admission of convicts, undocumented migrants to reduce spread of Covid-19

SEMENYIH, June 4 — The Home Ministry (KDN) will improve the admission process for prisoners and illegal immigrants so as to reduce the spread of Covid-19 cases among inmates at prisons and Immigration depots, said its minister, Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin.

He said that, so far, the government ensured that all prisoners and illegals were examined first before being placed in temporary detention centres to avoid the spread of the virus.

“The government is looking at ways to ensure co-operation with the Ministry of Health. For example, if a nearby lockup contacts a temporary detention centre to house its inmates, we will ensure that the RTK antigen test results can be obtained in just 15 to 20 minutes. 

“If there are those among them who are found positive, we will place them in quarantine,” he told a media conference after visiting the temporary Immigration depot at the Eco Millenium National Service Training Programme Camp in Beranang near here, today.

Also present were KDN deputy minister Datuk Seri Dr Ismail Mohamed Said, secretary-general Datuk Wan Ahmad Dahlan Abdul Aziz, Malaysian Immigration Department director-general Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud and Malaysian Prisons Department director-general Datuk Nordin Muhamad.

Hamzah said the ministry was also looking at additional plans to upgrade Immigration detention centres, especially in terms of facilities.

“The improvements include placing barbed wires for the buildings to prevent detainees from escaping,” he said, adding that the government was also considering increasing the number of temporary detention centres nationwide.

“Previously, the government planned to have 11 temporary detention centres, but there are only six at which are operational at the moment while the four Immigration detention centres, to date, are adequate,” he said.

According to Hamzah, thus far, the temporary detention centres nationwide had been successful in curbing the spread of Covid-19 in prisons and Immigration depots.

“There are only 48 positive Covid-19 cases in prisons nationwide while at the Immigration depots, there are only 30 individuals,” he said. — Bernama