"The Malaysian government has treated them in an inhuman way," said K. Haridas, an official of the Malaysia-based International Movement for Just World who is in town for a gathering of peace activists from around the region.
"While I believe that migration is a problem that my government should address, I don’t believe it should handle it this way."
Haridas is the lone Malaysian delegate to the four-day founding congress of the Asian Peace Alliance (APA) at the University of the Philippines.
The lawyer deplored in particular Malaysian security forces for beating up illegal migrant workers and detaining them in cells under subhuman conditions.
Haridas said the better thing to do is for the Mahathir administration, as a host government, to discuss with the worker-sending countries, like the Philippines and Indonesia, how the issue of illegal migrants could be addressed without violating Malaysian national sovereignty.
He said Malaysian politicians are to blame because they have been exploiting illegal migrants to pursue their own ends.
"For example, during election time, they issue these migrant workers identity papers so that they could vote for them," he said. "After the elections, it’s back to being illegals for these workers."
He said illegal migration has also been a root cause of corruption among the Malaysian police and customs establishment.
"Malaysian officialdom pins the blame on the migrant workers," he said, "it’s about time they start looking at itself in the search for answers to questions on corruption."
He said the Mahathir administration should not forget that it would not have achieved the economic growth of up to eight percent annually over the past 10 years without the migrant workers.
The solution, he said, are "multi-lateral" agreements among the concerned countries on proper documentation and the rights of migrant workers in the host countries.
"There has got to be a humane way of dealing with this issue, one that respects human rights, even of those considered illegal entrants," said Haridas.
Haridas said he himself has not escaped the ribbing of fellow delegates from other countries over the issue.
"It is a shameful thing to do – treat people like they were not at all human," he said.