UNHCR: Allow refugees to stay and work in Malaysia

KUALA LUMPUR: The Pakatan Harapan government can allow refugees to stay and work in Malaysia legally even without ratifying any international convention, says the top UN diplomat here for refugees.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) representative Richard Towle (pic) said he hoped Malaysia could start the ball rolling by having an integrated domestic strategy for refugees to do so.

“It’s much better for a country to do what they are capable of doing within their resources than to sign a convention and have no ability or intention of honouring the obligations.

“There are many countries around the world that have signed the refugee convention that do far less for refugees than Malaysia,” he told reporters yesterday on the sidelines of a forum held in conjunction with World Refugee Day.

Towle said 85% of the world’s refugees were being looked after by the developing world and not necessarily by countries which had signed an international convention.

In its manifesto, Pakatan pledged to ratify the 1951 International Convention on Refugees so that refugees who escape from war-torn countries and arrive in Malaysia would be given proper assistance.

Towle said while this would be a “marvellous aspiration”, it could be done in the longer term.

“The most important thing is to regularise the rights of refugees, right here, right now, through executive orders and minor amendment to regulations,” he said.

He said the fact that Malaysia had not signed the convention did not mean that the country had no responsibility over the issue.

“Let’s make sure that regulations are tidied up first and then having done that, if Malaysia feels comfortable about signing the convention, we will be delighted and support it,” he said.

Asked if UNHCR officials would be meeting with the new government to discuss refugee issues, Towle said that they were hoping to meet the relevant ministries as soon as possible.

As of May this year, there were some 157,580 refugees and asylum seekers registered with UNHCR in Malaysia. Of these, 72,490 or 46% were Rohingya refugees.

Malaysia is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention or the 1967 Protocol. It lacks legal or administrative framework regulating the status and rights of refugees in Malaysia.

Refugees are considered undocumented migrants under the Malaysian Immigration Act, and are at risk of arrest, detention, and deportation.

While refugees are not allowed to work legally, many of them work informally putting them at risk of being arrested.