Reaching Stateless, Undocumented and Migrant Communities a specified curfew. 10 Violators of the MCO faced a maximum fine of MYR1,000 under the Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988. 11 A stimulus package 12 was announced to ease financial problems arising from the MCO such as food baskets and one-off cash assistance of MYR500 to MYR1,600 depending on the household’s income. 13 However, this assistance was only offered to Malaysian citizens, leaving non-citizens to survive on their own. For stateless and legally marginalised communities in Sabah, the MCO had particularly devastating effects on their abilities to earn a livelihood. Most are employed informally in daily wage jobs in sectors such as construction, agriculture, and in services such as food and beverage and domestic work. Forms of labour typically performed by stateless and legally marginalised persons are often characterized as being ‘3D’ (dirty, dangerous and difficult) and do not come with benefits such as health or unemployment insurance, nor strong labour protections. 14 In the wake of the economic downturn triggered by the pandemic, stateless and legally marginalised persons found themselves without their regular sources of income. Many families that ANAK aided had already been in a state of subsistence living, and had no choice but to ration their foodstuffs and rely on charitable donations from NGOs and faith-based associations when the pandemic hit. Barred from opening bank accounts due to a lack of citizenship and/or identity documentation, some ‘unbanked’ people ANAK encountered were also compelled to sell any savings they had kept in the form of gold in exchange for petty cash to afford immediate needs. E Family Separation Some families that were assisted by ANAK resorted to sending their children to stay with other relatives because they had insufficient means to provide for their basic needs. These and other forms of family separation, particularly those spanning national borders, took a great financial and emotional toll. For example, Julia, a Filipina living in Sabah, was almost due to give birth when her husband’s mother fell sick in the Philippines. 15 Their plan was for her husband to visit his mother and come back in time for the birth of their baby. Due to the border shutdown, Julia’s husband was not able to come back, leaving Julia alone to care for their five-year-old son while pregnant, meaning that she was unable to leave her home to work. In July 2020, she gave birth to a baby girl at home. Despite assistance from friends and NGOs in the form of food, medical aid, and rent support, she was evicted from her room as she was unable to pay rent. Currently, Julia and her children are staying with a friend while they wait anxiously to be reunited with the children’s father. 10 11 12 13 14 15 ‘Only One Person Allowed Out’, The Star (online, 22 March 2020) <https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2020/03/22/only-one-person-allowed-out>. Prevention and Control of Infectious Diseases Act 1988 (Malaysia). Ain Umaira Md Shah et al, ‘COVID-19 Outbreak in Malaysia: Actions Taken by the Malaysian Government’ [2020] 97 International Journal of Infectious Diseases 108, 113. Tan Sri Muhyidden Yassin, ‘Prihatin Rakyat Economic Stimulus Package (PRIHATIN) Speech Text’ (Speech, Prime Minister's Office of Malaysia, 27 March 2020) <https://www.pmo.gov.my/2020/03/speech-text-prihatin-esp/>. Trapped: The Exploitation of Migrant Workers in Malaysia (Report, Amnesty International 24 March 2010) <https://www.refworld.org/docid/4bb05b812.html>. All names used in this article are pseudonyms to protect the identities of our community members. 139