In Malaysia's Sabah, pandemic rages as migrants flee testing

By Rozanna Latiff
KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 23 (Reuters) - Some flee on boats. Some
hide in the stilts under their homes. Others run into the woods.
All across Malaysia's Sabah region on Borneo island,
stateless residents and undocumented migrants are fleeing public
health officials conducting coronavirus screenings, fearful of
being detained or deported.
The race to tackle COVID-19 in Sabah, Malaysia's biggest
palm oil producing state, is being complicated by an estimated
one million undocumented migrants and stateless residents who
account for a third of the population.
Sabah accounts for nearly half of Malaysia's 54,775 recorded
COVID-19 infections and over half its 335 deaths despite having
barely a tenth of the Southeast Asian country's population.
But health officials fear the real picture could be much
worse as people evade screenings in fear of detention or
deportation.
"We see authorities coming, we do what we've always done:
run," Ahmad Han, an undocumented migrant living on the outskirts
of Semporna district in Sabah, told Reuters by phone.
As of Nov. 17, nearly a fifth of the state's infections
involved foreigners, according to government data obtained by
Reuters.
They included stateless indigenous communities as well as
refugees and migrant workers from neighbouring Philippines and
Indonesia, countries that have the highest number of coronavirus
cases in the region.
Sabah has recorded 192 deaths from COVID-19 so far. Of the
176 fatalities recorded in the state as of Nov. 16, 63 people
died even before receiving treatment, including 40 foreigners,
according to the data provided by Sabah cabinet minister Masidi
Manjun. The data included both documented and undocumented
migrants.
"Many would flee whenever they see nurses in uniform or an
ambulance," Masidi, who is also the state's spokesman on
COVID-19 matters, told Reuters.
"We are constantly trying to convince them that they won't
be arrested or deported when they go for COVID-19 testing. But
the response has been lukewarm to say the least."
Malaysia's crackdown on undocumented migrants since the
start of the pandemic has also worsened fears among vulnerable
communities, rights groups say. The country has detained
thousands, including during lockdowns, in what it says are
efforts to stem the virus' spread.

'CHALLENGING'
Coronavirus infections have been surging in Sabah since a
state-wide election in September.
Movement restrictions have already hurt production of palm
oil, a key export for Malaysia, while an emergency has been
declared in one eastern Sabah region to prevent a by-election
during the pandemic.
Deprived of income due to lockdown measures and ineligible
for government aid, many of the undocumented people depend on
working odd jobs to survive and fear that being forced to
quarantine would leave their families unable to fend for
themselves.
Doctors in Sabah say some migrants delay seeking treatment
even after falling ill, likely leading to more severe COVID-19
infections and the state's higher death rate.
"Many come in only when they're at the stage where they're
having trouble breathing," said one doctor at Tawau Hospital in
eastern Sabah, who declined to be identified as staff there were
not authorised to speak to media.
Minister Masidi said health officials were working with aid
groups and local authorities to reach vulnerable groups.
On islands off Semporna, the Bajau Laut community of sea
nomads, most of whom are stateless, only came forward after
health officials teamed up with aid agencies to persuade them to
undergo screening in exchange for supplies such as rice, oil,
baby formula and sanitary pads.
But even after they were tested, many fled as they feared
being quarantined on land.
"Logistically, it's a huge challenge," said Ahmad Kamil of
the Sabah-based Surah Al Falah aid group.
"Many communities live far in the interior or on remote
islands so it's hard to do contact tracing or transport patients
to health facilities."

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