Malaysia Should Reconsider Presence Of UNHCR If There Is No Screening Cooperation - Mohamad

SEREMBAN, July 28 (Bernama) -- Malaysia should reconsider the presence of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the country if the international body refuses to cooperate in implementing a strict screening process for refugee card applicants.

Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said the current existence of the UNHCR office is seen as a 'magnet' that attracts more refugees, especially the Rohingya ethnic group, to Malaysia.

In this regard, he said the government through the Home Ministry (KDN) is working on a mechanism to ensure that the screening process is carried out jointly by UNHCR and local authorities before any refugee card is issued to any individual.

He said the matter was also raised in the Cabinet Committee meeting chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, with him requesting that the Host Country Agreement be expedited to set guidelines and stricter controls on the issuance of UNHCR cards.

"We want cooperation and strict screening. If they do not want to cooperate, in my opinion, it is time for us to reconsider the presence of UNHCR in the country so that we do not continue to be burdened," he said after reviewing the early voting process at the Sendayan Air Base, here today.

Yesterday, the media reported that hundreds of ethnic Rohingya were camped out in front of the UNHCR office at Jalan Bukit Petaling in Kuala Lumpur, before being transferred to the Kuala Lumpur police contingent headquarters (IPK) for the documentation and identity verification process.

Commenting further, Mohamad said that among the issues that needed to be addressed was the refugee card application process which he claimed was too easy to the point of allowing individuals to apply online from their country of origin before obtaining the card upon arrival in Malaysia.

"Right now there is no SOP (Standard Operating Procedure), they give it to them after doing it online... he is in Myanmar, he has done it online, he comes here to get the card directly. So we do not have screening, this is what we need to manage," he said.

-- BERNAMA