KUALA LUMPUR: Negotiations are currently underway between Putrajaya and the Egyptian authorities to repatriate Palestinian refugees, the Dewan Rakyat was told.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin said his ministry, through the Malaysian Defence Intelligence Organisation (MDIO), are in talks with the Egyptian authorities.
“The MDIO is negotiating with the Egyptian authorities on an intel-to-intel basis to conclude the method and process of repatriating Palestinians to Egypt,” said Mohamed Khaled in a Parliamentary written reply dated Feb 24.
Mohamed Khaled said he is optimistic that the negotiations will be successful, taking into account the current ceasefire in Gaza since mid-January.
Meanwhile, he said the incident involving disturbances by Palestinian refugees at the Wisma Transit Kuala Lumpur (WTKL) last month was due to emotional stress, where certain refugees wanted to be sent back to Egypt immediately.
“Besides that, limited movement in WTKL had stressed them as they have lived there for more than four months.
“But, the disturbance was handled by the WTKL management without involving any fights or injuries,” he added.
On Aug 16, Malaysia brought 127 Palestinians, including 41 injured by Israel’s attacks on Gaza to the country for medical treatment.
