Huge wave of refugees predicted

WAtoday

Australia receives warning of a huge new wave of asylum seekers

Indonesian authorities have warned of a huge new wave of asylum seekers heading for Australia, with as many as 10,000 waiting in Malaysia to make the journey via Indonesia.

About 1500 asylum seekers have already arrived in Indonesia this year and registered for refugee status, almost all of them having come by boat from Malaysia. The same number again are believed to have arrived and not registered.

Indonesian police intelligence suggests between 7000 and 10,000 more people are waiting in Malaysia to make the journey once their passage is organised by people smugglers.

"It could be 10,000," said Eko Danianto, head of the people smuggling unit at the Indonesian National Police. They included people from Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Burma and Iraq.

Asylum seekers use Malaysia as a staging point because they can easily obtain tourist visas. There is a large network of people smugglers servicing the 1 million Indonesian illegal workers who regularly go back and forth between the two countries by boat. These same networks also help arrange passage to Australia.

On Saturday, Malaysian authorities arrested 36 Afghans and six Pakistanis being smuggled to Australia via Indonesia.

On Sunday, a boat carrying 194 people, mostly Sri Lankans, was intercepted near Christmas Island. Immigration sources said the boat was believed to have come from Malaysia. It was the biggest boatload of asylum seekers to reach Australia in eight years.

An Australian immigration enforcement official warned of the potential for a similar influx to the thousands who began arriving from the late 1990s. "When they start getting big numbers through on a boat, they (people smugglers) get credibility and they get money. It becomes a virtuous cycle for them," the official said.

"We have got a serious problem. This is like the late 1990s revisited."

Australia and Indonesia have stepped up co-operation on people smugglers and have disrupted more boats than the 16 that have reached Australia so far this year.

With Australian financial support and technical backing, the Indonesian Government will announce tomorrow the creation of up to 12 police "strike teams" dedicated to combating human trafficking.

But a new wave of asylum seekers from Malaysia will sorely test that new capability.

Aegile Fernandez, co-ordinator of the Malaysian immigration support group Tenaganita, agreed that up to 10,000 asylum seekers were in Malaysia and planning to come to Australia.

"I would put the blame on these agencies that have been promising Australia as the destination," she said.

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees has 49,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers on its books in Malaysia and estimates there are 45,000 unregistered illegal immigrants. The Australian Government declined to comment on the number of asylum seekers in Malaysia targeting Australia. But one source, speaking on condition of anonymity, said: "It could be 10,000. It could be 5000 or 20,000. We just don't know."

- Asylum seekers heading to Australia know little about the country before their arrival, let alone the intricacies of immigration policy, new research suggests.

Challenging the idea that asylum seekers are "knowledgeable deviants" capitalising on weakened policies, Charles Sturt University academic Roslyn Richardson said strong deterrent messages from governments did not cut through.

"People smugglers do not pass on detailed policy information," she said. In a study, the reasons 27 refugees gave for coming to Australia centred on its comparative cheapness and accessibility.

Going to Western Europe, for example, required passage through multiple checkpoints, she said. The research contradicts Opposition claims that policy changes last year led to a surge in boat arrivals.

With YUKO NARUSHIMA

50,000th refugee from Myanmar resettling in New Jersey, US.

PHILLY.COM

CAMDEN, N.J. - The 50,000th Myanmar refugee leaving Thailand with the help of the United Nations is resettling in New Jersey's most impoverished city.

The U.N. High Commission for Refugees says school teacher Plu Reh, his wife and their 2-year-old daughter have left a refugee camp for Camden.

The man spent 12 years at the Ban Mai Nai Soi camp in northern Thailand to escape war in his homeland.

He represents a milestone in the biggest current resettlement program in the world.

The U.N. says 112,000 refugees remain in the nine camps and that 6,000 to 7,000 more will be resettled this year.

Myanmar's 'secret tunnels' revealed

The secret tunnel network has reportedly been under construction for over a decade [DVB]

A television channel run by Myanmar exiles in Norway has obtained pictures it says show the construction of a network of secret, bomb-proof tunnels being built by Myanmar's ruling military with the help of North Korean engineers.

According to the Oslo-based Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), which agitates against Myanmar's military government, between 600 and 800 underground facilities and tunnels are in various stages of construction, although their exact purpose remains unclear.

The photographs and videos show extensive underground tunnel complexes large enough for heavy vehicles to drive through, with built-in ventilation facilities and an independent power supply.

Several Myanmar military officials are reported to have been detained following the leaking of the photographs, the DVB said, as the government investigates how details of the sensitive project were leaked.

It added that among those being questioned are associates of Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt, Myanmar's former intelligence chief.

The tunnel project, reportedly given the codename "Tortoise Shells" by Myanmar's military, is believed to have been implemented with North Korean involvement between 1996 and 2006.

'Foreign aid' used

Citing what it said were government documents on the construction project, the DVB said the cost of the tunnel scheme "has likely run into the billions".

"Several government budget files also show evidence of foreign aid and loans being used to fund construction work," the DVB said.

According to documents received by DVB, fibre-optic cables link the tunnel network which is believed to be designed to operate as command centres in the event of an emergency.

Nearly 40 of the 53 underground stations located at the Thai-Myanmar border are believed to have been built since 2004.

Myanmar's military government began investigating the leaked photographs after they were published in Yale Global Online on June 8.

Disguised

The tunnel network which the DVB says was disguised as a fibre-optic cable installation project had enough food and and room for about 600 people to survive underground for several months. Bertil Lintner, a Bangkok-based journalist who obtained the first images of the tunnel project, has said evidence points to North Korean officials helping to build the extensive underground installations, with Myanmar giving payment in gold or barter.

Writing in the magazine Yale Global Online, Lintner, a long-time observer of Myanmar said the tunnels were built near Naypyidaw, the country's new capital 460km north of Yangon, and was linked to provincial capitals across Myanmar.

The project apparently underscores shows an increasingly close relationship between two of Asia's most internationally isolated states.

It would also mark a sharp upturn in ties between the two countries after Myanmar cut off relations with Pyongyang in 1983 following a North Korean bomb attack in Yangon.

The bomb, planted by North Korean agents, killed more than a dozen visiting South Koreans, including several top government officials.

The agents were reportedly operating on the orders of Kim Jong-il – now North Korea's leader.

Secret talks

Observers say North Korean and Myanmar officials began secret talks in 1990 followed by more high-level meetings which led to the re-establishment of trade and eventually diplomatic relations in 2007.

News of the secret tunnel project comes as the US navy continues to track a North Korean freighter that reports have said may be carrying weapons, including missiles and missile parts, bound for Myanmar.

The freighter Kang Nam 1, which left port a week ago, is the first North Korean ship to be monitored under new UN sanctions that authorise member states to inspect North Korean sea, air and land cargo.

According to the Thailand-based Irrawaddy magazine, Myanmar has recently stepped up its interest in North Korean military hardware as its looks to upgrade its armed forces in the face of a UN arms embargo.

Impoverished North Korea, itself subject to international sanctions, has long used its arms industry as one of its few sources of income.

According to the Irrawaddy report, a high-level Myanmar military delegation made a week-long secret visit to North Korea in November 2008, reportedly to see Pyongyang's underground military installations.

The Myanmar delegation also reportedly inspected North Korean arms factories and later officially formalised military co-operation between the two countries

Source: AlJAZEEERA.Net

Malaysia: Release Burmese Celebrating Suu Kyi’s Birthday

News Source: HRW.ORG

(New York) - District police in Petaling Jaya, Malaysia should free Burmese asylum seekers detained since June 19, 2009, at a peaceful celebration of the 64th birthday of the Burmese democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, Human Rights Watch said today.

"The Malaysian authorities only made themselves look ridiculous by cracking down on a peaceful celebration of Aung San Suu Kyi's birthday," said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "By detaining Burmese asylum seekers who were calling for democracy in their homeland, Malaysia was broadcasting support for Burma's despotic generals."

The scheduled gathering in Malaysia was one of many held worldwide to condemn Suu Kyi's arbitrary detention and her current trial in Rangoon. The Nobel laureate has spent 14 of the last 20 years in some form of detention.

In connection with the birthday celebration, Malaysian authorities carried out surveillance, intimidation and eventually arrests, which infringed on the rights to free expression and peaceful assembly.

The Malaysian opposition coalition Pakatan Rakyat (People's Alliance) and the Petaling Jaya City Council jointly organized the celebration, which was to feature performances by Malaysian and Burmese participants.

From approximately 7 p.m., uniformed and plainclothes police used video and still photography to document the presence of organizers who were preparing the city park and the arriving attendees. Other officers questioned local and Burmese participants.

Efforts by participating organizations to discuss the police action were ignored by the police, who even refused to name the officer in charge. Police blocked all roads leading to the park. In all, more than 100 police officers, including a police riot squad, were dispersed to deal with an event that attracted about 50 participants.

Around 9 p.m. officers arrested 16 Burmese who had arrived to attend the celebration on suspicion of immigration offenses although the police initially mentioned "security concerns" and "illegal assembly." Due to the arrests, organizers called off the event.

Two of the 16, who had valid residency documents, were released. Of the 14 remaining in police custody, nine hold UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) documents but some have not yet completed the refugee status determination process. The five others are not registered with UNHCR.

The Petaling Jaya officer in charge of the police district, Arjunaidi Mohamed, was reported in the media as saying that the detained Burmese would be transferred to the Immigration Department, the first step in a lengthy process leading to deportations.

As of June 22, the 14 remain in police custody. Human Rights Watch called upon the authorities to allow UNHCR full access to those arrested, including those who have not obtained UNHCR registration.

Detention of refugees and asylum seekers is contrary to well-established standards of UNHCR's governing body, called the ExCom. ExCom's Conclusion No. 44 (1986) states that, because of the hardship it involves, detention of refugees and asylum seekers should normally be avoided.

If necessary, detention is only permissible on grounds prescribed by law to verify identity; to examine the basis for claims of refugee status or asylum; in cases involving destroyed or fraudulent documents to mislead local authorities; or to protect national security or public order.

While ExCom conclusions are not legally binding, they are adopted by consensus by the ExCom member states, broadly represent the views of the international community, and carry persuasive authority.

Human Rights Watch has long criticized Malaysia's treatment of refugees and asylum seekers. They, as well as undocumented migrants, are subject to arrest at any time and are often deported without adequate screening of their international protection needs. All face harsh conditions of detention that violate their rights, including whipping, other violence and maltreatment, and overcrowding, poor food, insufficient water and insufficient access to medical care.

Human Rights Watch said that the Burmese detainees should under no circumstances be deported to any place where their life or liberty would be at risk. This includes the Malaysia-Thai border, where they are likely to face further threats from human traffickers and criminal gangs. Burmese deported to the border who are able to pay can often return to Malaysia with the aid of smugglers or traffickers. But many who cannot pay are sold to Thai fishing boats, plantations, or brothels.

On June 16, the US State Department's Trafficking in Persons Report 2009 downgraded Malaysia to tier 3, its lowest ranking, and expressed concern about the trafficking of Burmese at the border.

Human Rights Watch reiterated its call to the Malaysian government to ratify the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 protocol, and the Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families, among other major human rights treaties. At Malaysia's Universal Periodic Review at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva last February, Malaysia rejected a recommendation from several member states that it ratify the Refugee Convention.

"Malaysia's poor record with respect to migrants and refugees is no secret," said Pearson, "One way for the government to signal a fresh start would be in its treatment of Burmese pressing for a democratic government at home."

Suu Kyi birthday vigil: Cops arrest 15 Myanmars in Malaysia

The Star Online

PETALING JAYA: Police arrested 15 Myanmars who were part of a gathering organised by Pakatan Rakyat to mark the 64th birthday of Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Friday night.

Those arrested have been taken to the police headquarters here, where a candlelight vigil is now underway.

They were arrested because they did not have any identification papers, a police source said. The gathering was held near the Amcorp Mall and Taman Jaya LRT station here. Among those at the gathering were DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang and Selangor executive councillor Ronnie Liu Tian Khiew.

Suu Kyi spent her 64th birthday in detention on Friday as civil advocates all over the world condemned her trial and called for tougher sanctions against the military junta in Myanmar.

The Nobel laureate is on trial and faces up to five years in jail if found guilty of violating her house arrest, under which she has been confined for more than 13 of the past 20 years.

The gathering here is only one of numerous such events all over the world, as well as campaigns on social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter, Reuters reported.

Another online campaign, www.64forsuu.org, drew thousands of messages of support, including good wishes from Hollywood star Julia Roberts, U2 frontman Bono, footballer David Beckham and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the wire agency said.

Suu Kyi is accused of breaking the terms of her house arrest by allowing an American intruder, John Yettaw, to stay for two days after he swam to her Yangon home in early May.

Critics say the trial is aimed at excluding Suu Kyi from next year’s elections, which they dismiss as a sham to entrench nearly half a century of military rule.

Human trafficking in Malaysia a national shame

MY Sinchew.com

LETTER TO EDITOR

The US State Department Annual ‘Trafficking in Persons Report 2009', condemnation of Malaysia should not come as a surprise. In fact, the Malaysian authorities should have anticipated it coming.

The Malaysian government was put on notice a year ago on active trafficking in persons in the country by local NGOs, questions raised in parliament, political parties and two months ago by the Richard Lugar (the US Ranking Minority Member) report entitled ‘Trafficking and Extortion of Burmese Migrants in Malaysia and Southern Thailand’

( a ) Ministry of Home Affairs – Lies and Denial

On 3rd May, 2008, an NTV 7 documentary entitled ‘Refugee for Sale’ exposed the selling and trafficking of Burmese refugees and migrants in detention camps in the Malaysia-Thai border. The report implicated Malaysian immigration officials as part of the network involved in human trafficking.

In July 2008, I asked a parliamentary question on this scandal and the Ministry of Home Affairs replied by saying that a special committee would be established to investigate the accusation and would get further information from NTV 7.

In October, 2008, I posited a second question on the outcome of the special committee’s investigation and was told that there was no basis to the accusations that immigration officials were working together with traffickers.

Was the NTV 7s producer contacted by the special committee? No. The producer was not contacted for further information and evidence. Thus what was the basis of saying that there was no basis to the accusation?

Clearly, the then Home Minister misled Parliament and Nation.

In fact, the Lugar report which outlined numerous instances of collaboration between immigration officials and traffickers was also met with the similar denial.

This complete shirking of responsibility in the face of convincing evidence reflects poorly on the integrity of Malaysian institutions. This is another feature of a failing state.

( b ) Trafficking of Malaysian Women and Children Locally and Abroad Highlighted in the TIP Report.

The report identifies Malaysia as a destination, transit and source of human slavery.

There are two sets of trafficked people:

( a) women and children for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation; and,

( b) men, women and children for the purpose of forced labor.

CHARLES SANTIAGO

Member of Parliament

Klang

18 June 2009

MySinchew 2009.06.18

History of UNHCR

UNHCR News

A Global Humanitarian Organization of Humble Origins

The UN refugee agency emerged in the wake of World War II to help Europeans displaced by that conflict. Optimistically, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees was established on December 14, 1950 by the United Nations General Assembly with a three-year mandate to complete its work and then disband. The following year, on July 28, the United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees - the legal foundation of helping refugees and the basic statute guiding UNHCR's work - was adopted.

By 1956 UNHCR was facing its first major emergency, the outpouring of refugees when Soviet forces crushed the Hungarian Revolution. Any expectation that UNHCR would become unnecessary has never resurfaced. In the 1960s, the decolonization of Africa produced the first of that continent's numerous refugee crises needing UNHCR intervention. Over the following two decades, UNHCR had to help with displacement crises in Asia and Latin America. By the end of the century there were fresh refugee problems in Africa and, turning full circle, new waves of refugees in Europe from the series of wars in the Balkans.

The start of the 21st Century has seen UNHCR helping with major refugee crises in Africa, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia, and Asia, especially the 30-year-old Afghan refugee problem. At the same time, UNHCR has been asked to use its expertise to also help many internally displaced by conflict. Less visibly, it has expanded its role in helping stateless people, a largely overlooked group numbering millions of people in danger of being denied basic rights because they do not have any citizenship. In some parts of the world, such as Africa and Latin America, the original 1951 mandate has been strengthened by agreement on regional legal instruments.

In 1954, the new organization won the Nobel Peace Prize for its ground-breaking work in helping the refugees of Europe. Its mandate had just been extended until the end of the decade. More than a quarter century later, UNHCR received the 1981 award for what had become worldwide assistance to refugees, with the citation noting the political obstacles facing the organization.

From only 34 staff members when UNHCR was founded, it now has 6,650 national and international members of staff, including 740 in UNHCR's Geneva headquarters. The agency works in 118 countries, with staff based in 108 main locations such as regional and branch offices and 151 often remote sub-offices and field offices.

The budget has grown from US$300,000 in its first year to more than US$2 billion in 2009. UNHCR now deals with 34.4 million people of concern to UNHCR: 14.4 million internally displaced people, 10.5 million refugees, 2 million returnees, 6.6 million stateless people and more than 800,000 asylum seekers. An organization with a three-year mandate to solve the problem of refugees will soon be celebrating its 60th anniversary, aware that the humanitarian needs are unlikely to disappear.

Malaysia transit point for asylum seekers

Source: radioaustralia

Malaysia has become a transit point for illegal migrants seeking refugee status in Australia.

Malaysian government sources say enforcements agencies are currently in talks with their Australian counterparts to find ways of reducing people trafficking.

Asylum seekers from Pakistan and Afghanistan are paying large sums of money to Malaysian traffickers to smuggle them into Australia.

Presenter: Desmond Ang Speakers:

Dr Amanullah Jayhoon, Afghanistan Ambassador to Australia; Kay Shan from Amnesty International

Listen: Windows Media

ANG: The road to asylum in Australia is, apparently, paved through Malaysia. Malaysia's Ministry of Home Affairs say since the start of the year, Pakistani and Afghan asylum seekers have travelled to Malaysia - to find illegal human traffickers who can smuggle them into Australia.

JAYHOON: It's a difficult situation. They were brought to Malaysia and Indonesia and they were stuck there. They would say that when they get to Australia or some other places they would be in a better position.

ANG: Afghanistan Ambassador to Australia Dr Amanullah Jayhoon says in some situations, refugees were deceived by traffickers.

JAYHOON: Some of the smugglers have vanished and some of them have been brought to Malaysia for the hope of sending them to Europe and that they were stuck in Malaysia.

ANG: The Home Ministry says refugees arrive in Malaysia on tourist visas, then enter Indonesia illegally, from where they are then smuggled into Australia. But their journey is perilous aboard vessels ill-equipped for the choppy waters. Malaysian maritime authorities estimate at least 12 people have drowned in the past 2 months in Malaysia's waters.

JAYHOON: When we see the tragedies, boat which was exploded, boats in Malaysia where Afghans have been drowned, causing a lot of tragedies and therefore we need a lot of cooperation in arresting these culprits and bring them into justice.

ANG: Malaysian officials say Indonesians, Afghan and Pakistani refugees form the bulk of immigrants caught trying to cross the border into Indonesia. The illegal immigrants are believed to have paid human traffickers in their home countries, who then arrange tourist visas for them. Kay Shan from Amnesty International.

SHAN: Definitely this makes the situation worse in terms of migrant refugee's rights because they're fleeing for their safety against a particular abuser or prosecution from their country and then they come to a third country and then again they're subjected to another form of torture or even exploitation. I think then again right from the beginning to the end they continue to suffer human rights violation, this is another form of human rights violation that the government should be prepared to look into.

ANG: NGOs in Malaysia know very little about these human trafficking scams, but Kay Shan feels this could be due to Malaysia's foreign policy.

SHAN: We believe theres a lot of cases out there where people are leaving voluntarily, secretly from Malaysia to Indonesia because the neighbouring country's close and definitely to other countries like Australia. I think it exists because when they come into Malaysia they come into a vacuum where they lose their rights and their freedom to move and protection, that's why they have to find a way out .

ANG: Mr Shan says Malaysia does not recognise refugees.

He says anyone caught entering Malaysia illegally is deported or placed in a detention centre. Malaysia has stepped up patrols along its coast recently - deploying helicopters, boats and an aircraft in response to the increase in illegal immigrants.

Malaysia to deport foreign prisoners

Malaysia plans to deport foreign prisoners and allow them to serve out the rest of their sentences in their home countries to cut costs and overcrowding in local jails, reports said Tuesday.

Proposed legal amendments will allow a prisoner-transfer agreement with other countries to ease congestion in Malaysia's 30 prisons, Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein said.

"As of May, 41 percent or 15,279 of the 37,242 inmates serving time in our jails are foreigners," the minister told the New Straits Times newspaper.

"Not only are the prisons congested but there is also the high cost of management that would be a burden to the country if this continues," he added.

The agreement would also allow Malaysians jailed overseas to return to prisons back home to serve the remainder of their sentences. The report did not say how many Malaysians were believed to be held in prisons abroad.

No nationality breakdown was given for the foreign prisoner population in Malaysia, one of Asia's largest importers of labour with an estimated 2.2 million guests workers largely employed in the plantation, manufacturing, construction and service sectors.

The current capacity of prisons nationwide is only 32,200. The government recently approved the building of 16 new prisons with a combined holding capacity of 18,000, the Star newspaper reported.

Malaysia has already introduced an early-release programme for prisoners who demonstrate good conduct as part of its plan to cut costs and overcrowding in prisons.

It has also introduced alternative non-prison sentences and community service orders for minor offences.

Dhaka, Bangkok to take up refugee issue with Yangon

REUTERS India

DHAKA (Reuters) - Thailand and Bangladesh agreed on Monday to take up with Myanmar the issue of the flow of Rohingya Muslims into Myanmar's neighbours, the Thai foreign minister said. The Rohingya, an oppressed Muslim minority from army-ruled Myanmar, have been leaving Myanmar and heading mainly into impoverished Bangladesh since the late 1970s.

Rohingya refugees have also created problems for several other countries in the region in recent months, with reports of Thailand putting those who come by boat back to sea, and others reaching Malaysia and Indonesia and trying to work illegally.

Myanmar does not recognise the Rohingya, who speak a Bengali dialect, as an ethnic group.

"We have discussed the refugee problems extensively and have agreed to take up jointly with Myanmar for a tripartite solution," Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya told a news conference during a visit to Bangladesh.

More than 21,000 Rohingya refugees living in two U.N.-run camps near the southeastern resort of Cox's Bazar in Bangladesh are not willing to go back, alleging persecution by the military junta ruling Myanmar.

They are the remnants of some 250,000 Rohingyas who fled to Bangladesh in 1992. The rest were repatriated through UNHCR.

Muslims are a minority in Myanmar, where most of the population is Buddhist.

Malaysia denies claim of Myanmar human trafficking

etaiwannews

Malaysia has found no evidence to support claims that thousands of deported Myanmar migrants were handed over to human traffickers in Thailand, an official said Monday.

The U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations said in a report made public in April that illegal Myanmar migrants deported from Malaysia were forced to work in brothels, fishing boats and restaurants across the border in Thailand if they had no money to buy their freedom.

The report was based on a yearlong review by committee staff who spoke to migrants from military-ruled Myanmar, also known as Burma, and human rights activists.

But Malaysian Home Ministry Secretary General Mahmood Adam said the government had "already set up a few internal investigations, but it's baseless."

The U.N. refugee agency has registered more than 48,000 refugees in Malaysia, most from Myanmar. Myanmar community leaders estimate the number of people from Myanmar living in Malaysia is about twice that. Those caught staying illegally face arrest and can be whipped as punishment before being deported.

Mahmood said those who flee persecution in Myanmar and are registered by the U.N.'s refugee agency are generally not deported.

The U.S. Senate committee report said "a few thousand" Myanmar migrants in recent years might have become victims of extortion and trafficking once deported across Malaysia's northern border with Thailand.

The report quoted one unidentified migrant as saying women "are sold at a brothel if they look good. If they are not beautiful, they might sell them at a restaurant or housekeeping job."

Malaysia detention centres 'violating rights'

Source: ABC News

The recent deaths of two illegal immigrants in one of Malaysia's many detention centres has raised the issue of the conditions under which detainees are held in the country.

Last year Suhakam, Malaysia's Human Rights Commission, identified medical care as an overriding reason why 1,300 detainees have died over the past six years.

Now two Burmese immigration detainees have died from leptospirosis, a disease caused by exposure to contaminated water.

Dato Siva Subramaniam, a Suhakam commissioner, told Radio Australia's Connect Asia program denial of health care was a violation of detainees' right to life.

"At present the 22 centres throughout Malaysia do not have a permanent clinical dispensary manned by doctors or a medical assistant to help detainees," he said.

"They have a visiting doctor only."

He noted that the 1,300 deaths notified to parliament covered not only immigration detention centres but prisons and police lock-ups.

Nevertheless, "we want improvement", the commissioner said.

He said Suhakam had identified health care and hygiene, including proper water supplies for detainees, as key issues at the centres, which are overseen by immigration officers.

New diseases

"Suhakam wants to ensure there is medical care, that there is a permanent doctor placed, and we want this to be done in every camp," the commissioner said.

With new diseases such as swine flu breaking out in the region, each inmate should undergo a proper medical check before they are put together with other detainees, he said.

Their embassies should also be notified.

Another problem was too many inmates in centres.

"The problem of overcrowding is something we need to be looked seriously at," he said.