TAPAH: Migrants who have been granted refugee status under the Refugee Registration Document Programme (DPP) will not be staying permanently in the country, assures Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail (pic).
The Home Minister said there would be only three outcomes for refugees: repatriation, relocation or deportation.
“Even if we have their record in the DPP, it does not mean they get to stay in the country for long.
“Firstly, they will be repatriated once it is safe in their home country to do so,” he said in a press conference after a working visit to the Special Isolation and Asylum Seekers Centre in Bidor, Ipoh, yesterday.
“Secondly, they could be relocated to another country.
“The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will be responsible for finding them another country to be relocated,” he said, adding that no refugees are allowed to settle down even if they find employment.
“Lastly, they could be deported, should they go against the law or have committed a crime.
“After conviction, appeals and all due process have been conducted, they will be deported,” he added.
The DPP, which began on Jan 1, is meant to improve the management of refugees and asylum seekers in the country.
Saifuddin Nasution said successfully-registered refugees under the DPP would be matched with job opportunities.
He said it was a potential solution to the manpower issue while assuring that national security and safety would not be compromised.
“There are a lot of applications on my desk for foreign workers from five economic sectors.
“Manufacturing, construction, agriculture and plantations still need them (foreign workers),” he said, adding that it was the ministry’s pilot project.
“Some 4,010 refugees in depots nationwide have been identified for the DPP.
“Some 101 refugees are the first batch from the Bidor depot, whereby 78 have been registered under DPP,” he added.
Saifuddin Nasution said migrants would have to go through a stringent process to be registered with the DPP.
He said individual information, including biometrics, facial recognition, voice recordings and granular information, would be recorded to better monitor them.
“The DPP will have complete and credible data, and we can monitor them efficiently.”
