Law & Behold #22: Rights of Undocumented Migrants in the Time of Covid-19

The recent arrests of undocumented migrants across Kuala Lumpur in a bid to curb the spread of Covid-19, and the move to turn away hundreds of Rohingya refugees stranded at sea by the authorities, has raised concerns among many. In the Federal Constitution, the right to life and the right to equal treatment is guaranteed to all persons - without distingushing the citizenship status of the person. This includes the right to humane treatment and to dignity of life. On this episode of Law & Behold, we discuss how lawful it was to turn away boat people, the rationale behind mass arrests of undocumented migrants, and the rise of xenophobia towards them in Malaysia. We also look at laws that are in place to protect vulnerable members of the community in a time of crisis, with Firdaus Husni, the Chief Human Rights Strategist at the Malaysian Centre for Constitutionalism and Human Rights, and Surendra Ananth, a Constitutional Lawyer.