Ketika malam tiba, di balik hutan sawit sepanjang jalan Tawau – Kalabakan, ribuan buruh migran dan keluarganya bersembunyi menanggung takut dan dingin. Termasuk orang tua, perempuan hamil dan bayi. Ini adalah peristiwa persembunyian massal migran di perkebunan sawit yang selalu terjadi setiap tahunnya.

Di malam hari, hutan-hutan di balik perkebunan sawit berubah menjadi kamp persembunyian. Sementara pagi harinya, mereka harus kembali bekerja. Memupuk tanah, memanen tandan buah sawit dan mengangkutnya ke pabrik pengolahan. Membuat mesin raksasa perkebunan sawit kembali berproduksi. Setelah melalui malam sebagai buruan, paginya ribuan migran termasuk anak-anak itu harus kembali menjadi buruh.

Musim persembunyian massal migran perkebunan sawit tahun ini telah berlangsung sejak Jumat, 3 Mei 2024. Sejak seminggu lalu, ribuan manusia yang turut berkontribusi terhadap 40 persen perekonomian Sabah harus bersembunyi, tidur di bawah lindungan hutan sawit. Mereka yang setiap tahunnya turut menciptakan 5 juta ton CPO dan 16,5 miliar ringgit (58 triliun rupiah) nilai total ekspor bagi Sabah diburu seperti binatang.

Melalui petisi ini, kami mendesak Jawatan Imigrasi Malaysia (JIM), Sabah, untuk segera menghentikan segala bentuk operasi penangkapan migran tak berdokumen. Menangkap mereka yang mana termasuk anak-anak, orangtua dan perempuan ke dalam pusat tahanan sementara yang penuh sesak merupakan tindakan keji, merendahkan kemanusiaan, dan merupakan serangan terhadap orang-orang yang selama ini justru bekerja paling keras membangun perekonomian Sabah.

Buruh migran dan keluarganya yang telah tinggal selama beberapa generasi memiliki kontribusi yang tak tergantikan terhadap ekonomi Sabah. Tanpa mereka 1,6 juta hektar perkebunan sawit di Sabah hanya akan membusuk.

Melalui petisi ini kami menuntut agar otoritas Sabah segera:

1. Menghentikan segala bentuk operasi penangkapan terhadap migran yang tidak berdokumen,
   termasuk anak anak, perempuan dan orang tua;
2. Menyediakan layanan keimigrasian yang lebih mudah diakses, cepat, murah dan aman bagi buruh migran;
3. Menjalankan program pengampunan bagi buruh migran tak berdokumen, termasuk mengadopsi program kalibrasi federal (federal recalibration programme);
4. Mempercepat dan menyederhanakan proses administrasi deportasi untuk menghindari penahanan berkepanjangan sehingga pusat tahanan sementara bagi para migran di Sabah tidak semakin penuh sesak;
5. Mengutamakan tanggung jawab penghormatan, pemenuhan dan perlindungan Hak Asasi Manusia (HAM) bagi buruh migran, termasuk hak atas kesehatan, dibanding pendekatan represif.

English Version

Stop Hunting Us Like Animals

When the night fell, behind the mighty palm oil forests along Tawau - Kalabakan road, thousands of migrant workers and their families hid in fear and cold. Including the elderly, pregnant women and babies. This is an incident of mass hiding of migrants in oil palm plantations which always occurs every year.

At night, the forests behind the oil palm plantations turn into hiding camps. Meanwhile in the morning, they had to go back to work. To fertilize the land, harvest a bunch of fresh fruit and bring it to the factory. Waking up the giant of palm oil plantation back into production. After spending the night as prey, in the morning thousands of migrants, including children, had to return to work as laborers.

This year's mass hiding season for oil palm plantation migrants has started from Friday, May 3 2024 to now. Since a week ago, thousands of people who contribute to 40 percent of Sabah's economy have had to hide, sleeping under the protection of mighty palm oil forests. Those who helped create 5 million tons of CPO and 16.5 billion ringgit (58 trillion rupiah) in total export value for Sabah were hunted like animals.

Through this petition, we urge the Malaysian Immigration Bureau (JIM), Sabah, to immediately stop all forms of arrest operations for undocumented migrants. Arresting people, including children, the elderly and women, in overcrowded temporary detention centers is a cruel act, dehumanizing and an attack on the people who have worked hardest to build Sabah's economy.

Migrant workers and their families who have lived for generations have made an irreplaceable contribution to Sabah's economy. Without them, 1.6 million hectares of palm oil plantations in Sabah would simply rot.

Through this petition we urge the Sabah authorities to immediately:

1. Stop all forms of arrest against undocumented migrants, including children, women, and the elderly;
2. Provide immigration services that are more accessible, affordable, fast, and safe for migrant workers;
3. Implement an amnesty/remission program for undocumented migrant workers, including adopting a federal recalibration program;
4. Speed up the deportation process to prevent overcrowded detention centers and cramped conditions for detained migrant;
5. Prioritize the responsibility to respect, fulfill, protect the human rights of the migrant workers including their health rights, over the repressive approach.