A security officer in Sabah has denied that human rights and international protocols had been violated when Malaysia repatriated illegal immigrants after an amnesty ended last August.

Director of the Special Federal Task Force in Sabah Mohd Ghazali Ahmad said this when asked to comment on allegations by Philippines-based Migrante International in a report released at a regional conference in Port Dickson on Monday.

Based on interviews with some 150 returnees in the Philippines, the report by a "fact-finding mission" documented complaints of poor conditions and punishments being meted out at detention centres for illegal immigrants in Sabah.

Mohd Ghazali said his agency supervises the three temporary detention centres of Menggatal, Tawau and Sandakan. It works with immigration authorities and the police to detain and repatriate undocumented foreigners in Sabah.

Responding to the allegations, he said various groups, including the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam), had visited the centres and verified that the conditions were not as bad as claimed.

"Many non-governmental organisations from the Philippines and Indonesia have come to the centres and have seen (the conditions) for themselves. (There have been) no complaints ( from them)," he said.

Ghazali said that basic facilities and amenities are provided to all detainees in order that they are "treated as humanely as possible".

"There may be some problems (with maintenance), but we have tried to solve them. The biggest problem that I can see is the occasional clogging of toilets."

A senior official in the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur also expressed scepticism over the claims by Migrante International.

"I wouldn't say that their claims are exaggerated, but I go to Sabah at least once a month and I see that everything is in order," said the official, who requested anonymity.

Poser over refugees

On another allegation that the deportees included Filipinos who had originally fled to Sabah to escape military conflict in the southern Philippines, Mohd Ghazali said such people were not the target of repatriation exercises.

"Our concern is mainly illegal immigrants who are working here without proper documents. We do not repatriate those who are here as refugees fleeing from conflict. The government's policy is to allow such refugees to settle temporarily in Sabah," he said.

"Unless they have violated rules, there is no reason for us to send them back. If there are cases where such people fleeing conflict have been repatriated, then (we have to check)."

The embassy official also indicated any repatriation of Filipino refugees may have been prompted by violations of the law.

"Perhaps those who were deported were refugees who may have committed crimes," he said.

The Migrante International report forms part of a trio of documents that includes a study conducted in Malaysia by labour rights group Tenaganita, and in Indonesia by Jakarta-based NGO Kopbumi.

It was critical of both the Malaysian and Philippine authorities for their handling of those deported following the enforcement of tough new immigration laws last year.

Among the allegations in its report were that parents had been separated from children during the exercise, while detainees had been deprived of food, water and proper accommodation while in Sabah.

It accused the Philippine government of failing to provide assistance to returnees in rebuilding their lives or to ensure they received medical support and counseling services. Instead, it allegedly processed passports separately so that they could return quickly to Sabah.