‘More refugee data needed’

PUTRAJAYA: Allowing refugees to be employed is a decision that can only be made after the country has enough data from refugee registrations, said Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (pic).

Speaking to the media at the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) Hari Raya open house at its headquarters here yesterday, the Home Minister said the Cabinet and National Security Council have tasked his ministry with being responsible for refugee registration.

“There are 185,000 refugees registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), but under the government’s Tracing Refugees Information System (TRIS) programme, there have only been 30,000 that have registered.

“So the gap is large, and now the National Security Council has also determined the Home Ministry’s new job is to register them,” he said.

Noting the calls from economic sectors for more workers, Saifuddin said any decision to allow refugees to work can only be made once they have tabulated the data obtained from these registrations.

“On one side, we have agriculture and construction sectors requiring workers. These sectors are asking for workers and to approve the arrivals.

“On the other hand, we have refugees that have left their country. For us to consider them for employment, we first need granular data. We are not a signatory to the (1951) Refugee Convention, so there are certain restrictions,” he said, adding that there were no data sharing agreements with UNHCR.

The 1951 Refugee Convention, also known as the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees or the Geneva Convention of July 28, 1951, is a United Nations multilateral treaty that defines who a refugee is and spells out the rights of individuals who are granted asylum, as well as the responsibilities of nations that grant them asylum.

Saifuddin said once the data is obtained, any decision to aid refugees in obtaining jobs can be made based on the policy set by the government.

He said if the refugee issue isn’t handled properly, resentment might emerge, such as in the recent tensions at a low-cost flat in Penang between local residents and Rohingyan refugees there.

“That is a symptom of when things are not handled properly,” he said, adding that no one should take the law into their own hands.

An online portal recently reported that local residents had accused Rohingyan refugees, who were housed at the Sri Bagan flats, were abusing facilities.

In another matter, the minister said MMEA has been urged to increase international partnerships to strengthen border security.

In a statement, he added that the existing partnership with the Australian Border Force was a good example, especially with their joint operations aimed at crimes such as human trafficking and contraband smuggling.