Monitoring Report of Women and Children
at Sabah’s Immigration Detention Centers in Malaysia

March 2022 – April 2023.
Prepared by:

Coalition of Sovereign Migrant Workers
(Koalisi Buruh Migran Berdaulat)

PREFACE

Migran Berdaulat – Since 2020 during the outbreak of Covid-19, Coalition of Sovereign Migrant Workers (KBMB) has embarked on its fact-finding mission to learn about the conditions of Indonesian migrant workers and their families deported from Sabah, Malaysia. This investigation aims to understand the various forms of inhumane treatment toward Indonesian migrant workers and their families detained in four immigration detention centers in Sabah. Furthermore, we also want to detect the collateral damage and the involvement of the related authorities to find out whether the inhumane treatment inside the immigration detention centers in Sabah was the fault of individuals or a structured error involving a state institution. This investigation was conducted by meeting newly deported migrants in flats owned by the Nunukan government in North Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Since 2011, the flats have been used to temporarily house those deported from Sabah, before they are repatriated to areas believed to be their place of origin. Nunukan is a border island agreed upon by both Indonesian and Malaysian governments as a deportation destination for all immigration detention centers in Sabah. We visit Nunukan whenever there is a deportation case. Since our first report three years ago, we have met with more than 200 deportees immediately after they were deported and gained an overview of the conditions of Indonesian migrants in four immigration detention centers in Sabah. In a previous report, we found that at least 18 Indonesian workers died in one of the immigration detention centers in Sabah in a single year. Many witnesses revealing the circumstances surrounding these deaths consider these deaths as preventable. We also obtained the story of one detainee who had been tortured to death in his isolation block. In addition several women also suffered miscarriage in the detention centers.

Every report describes a general situation of all detainees at Sabah’s Immigration Detention Centers. Some issues are particularly worrying and should be responded immediately by both the Malaysian and Indonesian governments.

Since the last report, unfortunately, the overall conditions of detainee treatment have not changed, although we observed minor improvements at one of the detention centers since December 2022.

Between March 2022 and April 2023 there were 2,347 migrants who were deported from Sabah to Nunukan. Of all the deportees, 380 were women, 174 deportees were children under 18 years old, 84 were under 12 years old, and 41 were babies under the age of five. During that period, we conducted 8 monitoring activities and met with more than 100 deportees.

The heart and soul of this report is embedded in the painful stories experienced by women and child detainees. Pregnant women who are detained for long periods, give birth and breastfeed their babies in immigration detention. Those who face conditions of imprisonment, fear and depression. Women who are driven from their homes and from their children. Women who die without their families by their side, children who lose their childhood and their mothers. Women and children who will continue to bear the trauma for the rest of their lives.

Some of the deportees were born and grew up undocumented in Sabah. They couldn’t access basic services such as healthcare, education and legal aid. Living without a citizenship always puts them at risk and destitution.

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