The Round-Up Begins

The long-awaited round-up of undocumented migrant workers in Malaysia began yesterday. There are inevitable reports that many workers have gone into hiding after some 500 people were arrested. To assuage critics and the media, the Home Affairs minister, Azmi Khalid, is saying that the detention camps are of an acceptable standard and then draws an entirely spurious parallel:

Compared to Guantanamo Bay, we are a five-star hotel. We do not do things that are inhumane. This is our guarantee.

I'm sure the detained workers will be happy to hear of their superior lodgings though the hotel staff have been known, in the past, to rough up the guests a little. Look at this photo essay from the BBC and you'll get a sense of the humiliation and fear in the eyes of the detainees.