Amnesty fears rights violations in Malaysian mass deportation

International rights watchdog Amnesty said Friday that Malaysia's plans to deport tens of thousands of illegal migrants from Borneo island could lead to serious human rights violations.

The government this week announced a campaign to drive out the migrants, mostly from the Philippines and Indonesia, who have settled in Sabah state on Malaysia's half of Borneo.

"We are of the opinion that the federal government's unilateral action may result in serious human rights violations," Amnesty said, warning that many of those targeted were asylum seekers and refugees from the southern Philippines.

Amnesty's branch in Malaysia called on the government to establish a Royal Commission of inquiry to study the issue of illegal migration to Sabah.

"We fear that the simplistic and arbitrary action of mass crackdown by the federal government in addressing such a serious and complex issue will only elevate the ongoing human rights and humanitarian concerns in Sabah and the region to a serious crisis level," it said.

Politicians in Sabah have pushed the national government to expel the illegal migrants, saying they were a burden on the economy and pose a security threat by engaging in crime and the drugs trade.

Authorities say there are 130,000 illegal migrants in the impoverished state, but local politicians put the figure as high as 500,000. Many of them work in the timber and plantations industries.

Amnesty said some of the settlers had lived in Sabah for more than 10 years, and that they risked "cruel, inhuman or degrading" treatment during deportation.

"In 2002, reports indicated that the process of mass deportations of undocumented migrants led to the deaths of children, due to dehydration and disease in detention centres in the state of Sabah," it said.

Indonesian officials have also said they were concerned about the deportation plans, the latest in a series of periodic crackdowns by Malaysia that have caused conflict between the two countries in the past.

Malaysia splits Borneo island with Indonesia.

Agence France-Presse - 6/27/2008 10:10 AM GMT