The government's move to arm auxiliary police (Rela) unit members with firearms during the crackdown on illegal immigrants next month will set a 'very dangerous' precedent, labour rights group Tenaganita said today.

Its director Irene Fernandez said in a statement that there was no justification for the use of firearms against migrant workers nor any rationale for the increased powers of Rela members.

The government has previously said that 212 armed Rela members will assist police and immigration enforcement officers during the national crackdown to nab illegal migrant workers in the country.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak said last week that there would be no extension of the Jan 31 amnesty deadline for illegal immigrants, including those from tsunami-hit Indonesia, to return to their countries.

"The move to arm Rela members will only increase the possibility of abuse of power and create a form of vigilantism that brings about racism and violence. It is better to nip in the bud such forms of abuse by not providing arms to Rela members," Fernandez urged.

'No reason'

She pointed out that in the 2002 major crackdown on illegal immigrants, there were no reports of undocumented migrants using firearms against enforcement agencies.

Instead, she claimed, many migrant workers had sustained injuries and even died while trying to escape from being caught by enforcement agency personnel.

"There is absolutely no reason to use firearms on unarmed ordinary migrant workers. Their only fault is that they do not hold proper documents ... undocumented workers are not criminals," she stressed.

The labour activist suggested the government to re-register all undocumented workers instead of going ahead with the crackdown to save costs for both the government and employers.

She said this would be the 'best solution' as employers, especially those from the service sector, had recently requested the government to make it easier for them to recruit foreign workers.

Monitoring group

Fernandez said that Tenaganita, meanwhile, would collaborate with various groups to set up an operations centre to monitor human rights violations and assist any migrant worker who is unlawfully arrested, abused or forced to pay a bribe during the impending crackdown.

On the same note, the group will also monitor arrests of employers and recruiting agents to determine whether the Immigration Act is being fairly enforced.

Some 320,000 illegal workers, mostly Indonesians, have so far taken up the government's amnesty offer to return home without a penalty since Oct 29.

The amnesty offer was originally due to expire Dec 31 but the government extended it for a month amidst fear that its mass deportations would worsen the humanitarians crisis in Indonesia and other countries hit by the tsunami.