KUANTAN: The proposal to close the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Malaysia will not lead to ties being severed with the international body, says Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah.
The existing ties, he said, would be preserved under international relations, adding that UNHCR was still relevant as an international body and its expertise in managing refugees was still needed by Malaysia.
“What is happening is a proposal for transition for the Malaysian government to have its own card to be used by refugees and asylum seekers coming to Malaysia.
“If this can be done, then the UNHCR office will be closed. But this needs time,” Bernama reported the minister as saying when asked to comment on a study on the proposal by National Security Council director-general Datuk Rodzi Md Saad to close the UNHCR office in Malaysia.
“We need to do training and, to my understanding, UNHCR has agreed to conduct training together with our Home Ministry officers so they will have the required efficiency,” he said.
Malaysia, Saifuddin said, should give assurance to the international community that it could manage the presence of refugees and asylum seekers better and in a more systematic manner than UNHCR.
