Malaysia Temporarily Halts UNHCR Refugee Registration
The Malaysian government has asked the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to temporarily halt the registration of new refugees in the country. The policy was taken because Kuala Lumpur is building a domestic system to manage asylum seekers through the Refugee Data Management Programme (DPP), which began implementation in January.
Deputy Foreign Minister Lukanisman Awang Sauni said the temporary suspension of registration is necessary so that the government can manage refugee data independently. ‘Through the DPP, the government can manage data in a more structured manner, including identity verification, monitoring, and regulation, without relying entirely on the records of any foreign entity,’ Lukanisman said when answering a senator’s question in the upper house of parliament regarding the management of Rohingya refugees, as quoted by Reuters on Thursday.
According to UNHCR data, as of the end of February there were approximately 215,600 refugees and asylum seekers registered in Malaysia. More than half of them are Rohingya Muslims who fled Myanmar. Malaysia is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, so refugees do not have the right to work or access formal education.
Lukanisman explained that the registration halt will also give UNHCR space to focus more on the process of resettling refugees to third countries if they cannot be repatriated to their country of origin. He stressed that the Malaysian government will continue to coordinate and cooperate regularly with the UN agency.
Meanwhile, UNHCR Malaysia has yet to comment on the policy. However, in a statement on its official website, UNHCR said Malaysia’s refugee policy, including the DPP, is an important step towards a more structured, predictable, and nationally managed protection system. The agency also emphasised that its role is to complement the protection and humanitarian responsibilities of the Malaysian government.
On a separate note, Lukanisman revealed that the government is also drafting a plan to deport around 5,000 Myanmar nationals currently held in immigration detention centres. The deportation will be carried out using naval vessels once approval is obtained from the Myanmar government.
The Rohingya refugee issue has returned to the spotlight following a rise in hate speech and disinformation on social media in recent weeks. Several posts have accused the Rohingya community of taking jobs and land belonging to Malaysian citizens.
Malaysia previously deported more than 1,000 Myanmar nationals by ship in 2021, despite a court order at the time to halt the process. Human rights groups assessed that the deportation also involved asylum seekers and refugees registered with the UNHCR.
The situation in Myanmar itself has continued to deteriorate since the military overthrew the civilian government in a coup in February 2021, triggering a civil war. To this day, the Myanmar government does not recognise the Rohingya as citizens, forcing many of them to seek protection in other countries, including Malaysia.