A migrant rights group has denied that the settlement raided by the authorities in Nilai Spring, Negeri Sembilan, last week, was an illegal colony as claimed by the Immigration Department.

According to Jakarta-based Migrant Care, the wooden houses and structures, including a makeshift school, were instead erected in a secluded area linked to employers who hired the initial group of Indonesian workers for sand mining activities in the area, some nine years ago.

Since then, the number of settlers grew with additions of the elderly, women, and children, making up the 67 individuals arrested on Feb 1, including 20 boys and 16 girls - all of whom are now being detained at the Lenggeng Immigration Depot.

The group was responding to a statement by Immigration director-general Khairul Dzaimee Daud today that the discovery of the structures and makeshift school was an indication that the migrants...