When the government announced last year that asylum seekers protected by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will be spared, it failed to issue a directive to immigration officers.

This has resulted in the arrests of refugees and those holding UNHCR protection papers, which are not officially recognised by the Malaysian authorities.

The Federal Territory Immigration Department enforcement division chief, who spoke on behalf of the department's acting director Zainun Saleh, said his office was merely carrying out their duties.

The division chief, who requested anonymity, added that his section did not received any directive from the government to stop detaining these people.

"As immigration officers, our concern is that these foreigners should have valid documents and passes to stay (in Malaysia). At present, there is no agreement with the UNHCR," he clarified.

He said that all detainees are brought before a magistrate's court within 24 hours of their arrest to be remanded.

The detainees are then sent to the Semenyih detention camp, in Selangor, no later than 14 days after their arrest regardless of whether or not they possess UNHCR's protection paper.

"Therefore it is impossible for someone to claim to have been detained at our holding cell for 23 days," he said in response to allegations made recently by resettled Acehnese refugee Muhammad Nurul Al-Khalil.

Cells inspected

The officer also argued that detainees had a chance to plead their case with the magistrate and if there had actually been cases of abuse, it would have been raised in court.

Muhammad Nurul, who was released from a three-month detention in the department's lock-up in Damansara and later in Semenyih, had also claimed that the cell he was kept in, located on the fifth floor of the department's building, was small and overcrowded.

When malaysiakini inspected the cells yesterday, there were over a dozen male detainees and about two dozen female detainees placed in separated cells next to each other. Each measured an estimated 5 x 10m with an attached washroom area.

The officer would not allow any photos of the cells to be taken.

"Last night, we had a raid and arrested three foreigners. When we go on our own operations there's only a handful of officers, so there's no way we can detain big numbers. The detainees from the Rela (police volunteer reserve) raids are sent directly to Semenyih," said the officer.

Rela had been given powers of arrests by the government to aid in the immigration and police's efforts to nab illegal immigrants.

The officer said immigration officials are sometimes present during Rela's raids but those stings normally round up over 100 foreigners who are sent directly to the detention centre in Selangor.

On Muhammad Nurul's ( photo ) allegation of poor healthcare, he said in cases of "non-serious" illness - like fever - inmates are prescribed (Panadol) paracetamol.

"However, if they are seriously ill, we will call medical emergency units and have them hospitalised," he added.

His explanations starkly contradicted past-consistent claims by rights activists, former detainees and even the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) on the deplorable state of some immigration lock-ups.