A fact finding body composed of non-government organizations (NGO) including the Association for the Rights of Children in Southeast Asia, Migrante International and Gabriela, confirmed today the human rights abuses of Malaysian Police force commited on some Filipinos who are living in Sabah, a territory being claimed by Malaysia and the Philippines.
The fact-finding body reported that thousands of Filipino residents and workers in Sabah are being subjected to severe beatings by the Malaysian Police. Some of these Filipino "deportees" including women and children are suffering from inhuman conditions inside detention centers.
The government of Malaysia has been "deporting" thousands of Filipinos who have made Sabah their home. Some of these Filipinos were born in Sabah and most of them have not even set foot on Philippine soil. They don’t even speak the Filipino language.
Why is the government of Malaysia tolerating these human rights abuses on Filipinos living in Sabah? And why is the Philippine government allowing these abusive stance of the Malaysian Police force? Everyone who is familiar with the long drawn territorial conflict between Malaysia and the Philippines with regards to the ownership of the disputed land by both parties, would say that the territorial claim by both countries is far from being resolved.
It is therefore prudent for all concerned to maintain status quo in dealing with the deportation issues in Sabah and to disuade the Malaysian government from commiting atrocities on the helpless Filipnos living and working in Sabah.
The current political regime in Malaysia seems unmindful of this well-publicized violation of human rights being commited by their police force on the thousands of helpless Filipinos in Sabah. Perhaps human rights issues are not in their agenda of governance. This is the ugly side of Malaysia.
In the meantime, human rights violations in Sabah continues.
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