Home Ministry secretary-general Aseh Che Mat can refer to the evidence unveiled during the trial of rights activist Irene Fernandez for proof of police mistreatment against migrant workers.

Fernandez told malaysiakini today if Aseh wanted proof, he should read the evidence given during her trial where former inmates of a detention camp for illegal immigrants testified about the mistreatment they endured in the hands of the police.

Yesterday, Aseh dismissed allegations by a Jakarta-based lobby group that Malaysian police were repressive towards Indonesian workers and that they had confiscated the workers' money.

The group, known as the Consortium for the Defence of Indonesian Migrant Workers (Kopbumi), said such high-handed actions by the police had caused migrant workers to behave in a violent manner.

Kopbumi was reacting to the government's blacklisting of Indonesian workers following a Jan 17 riot at a textile factory in Negeri Sembilan where the workers overturned police vehicles and threw stones at police personnel.

However, Aseh said the police were professional in doing their job and asked for proof that they had taken the workers' money.

Longest trial

To this, Fernandez said that during her trial, the inmates had testified that police had confiscated their money and that they were subjected to harsh treatment.

"Arising from this, what has the ministry done to rectify this situation?" she asked.

Fernandez's case, which began in 1996, is the longest running trial in Malaysian legal history. She was charged with "maliciously publishing false news" by releasing a memorandum at a press conference in August 1995 on alleged torture and deaths at detention camps for illegal immigrants.

Fernandez said Tenaganita, of which she is the director, had also documented the reasons behind a riot which erupted at a detention centre in Pekan Nanas, Johor, last December.

"Still nothing has been done," she lamented.

Fernandez said the government must create an environment where migrant workers detained by the enforcement agencies can feel free to make a report without fear if they are subjected to mistreatment.

She said this in reference to Aseh's statement that workers involved in the Nilai riot should lodge a complaint with his ministry on their claims that they were mistreated by the police.

Fernandez also reiterated her challenge to the government to send all migrant workers back and see how Malaysia will manage the situation.

"Otherwise, stop blaming the most vulnerable and least protected group," she said.