Rights group slams Malaysia's 'un-Madani' deportation

Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram) strongly condemns the “Madani” (civil and compassionate) government’s deportation of Cambodian domestic worker Nuon Toeun.

On grounds of respect for fundamental rights in the Federal Constitution and the non-refoulement principle, the state must immediately halt such unlawful deportations, alongside other actions by enforcement authorities that exacerbate risks to the life of those individuals, namely activists, human rights defenders and defectors. 

Nuon’s deportation is alarming on multiple fronts. In view of Nuon’s valid work visa and the absence of a criminal record in Malaysia, by deporting her, Malaysia has blatantly violated her fundamental right to life and personal liberty enshrined in Article 5 of the Federal Constitution – a right, which by right, should not discriminate on the basis of citizenship status.

This action also makes the Madani government no different from its predecessor that deported Bangladeshi migrant worker Mohamad Rayhan Kabir in 2021 for criticisms of our authorities’ treatment of undocumented persons during the pandemic – demonstrating not only state intolerance towards criticism but also failure to consistently uphold and respect freedom of expression.

The implications involved are both far-reaching and chilling. Domestically, the lives of defectors and human rights defenders seeking protection here as refugees or asylum seekers from well-founded fears of persecution hang more precariously in the balance.

In the case of Egyptian human rights defender Ahmed Hassanine Mohamed Mousa who is currently detained by the Immigration Department, he experiences grave risks of arbitrary detention and worse, torture by Egyptian authorities once deportation takes place.

At the broader level, by deporting Nuon, Malaysia also plays an active role in creating an increasingly repressive socio-political environment in the Southeast Asian region, where state violence is legitimised, and people would no longer feel safe to practise their fundamental rights and advocate for justice for others.  

A scrupulous and democratic government would not stoop to such human rights violations in the name of upholding a nation’s right to extradition.

As we reiterate our call for cessation of all violations of non-refoulement including forced deportations, we also urge the Madani government to implement a national stance of zero tolerance against transnational repression, with the following measures taken: