‘Only 291 UNHCR card holders registered’

> Govt seeks cooperation to track all 150,000 refugees: Nur Jazlan

KUALA LUMPUR: Only 291 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) card holders have registered under the Tracking Refugees Information System (TRIS), which is a government-sanctioned programme, to vet refugees residing in Malaysia.

Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed ( pix) said the number is small compared to the total number of refugees and asylum seekers registered under UNHCR, which currently stands at 150,000.

He added UNHCR had failed to provide the government with the database of its card holders to be registered under the programme. “This is a very slow progress as we want to register all the 150,000 refugees (UNHCR card holders) under the programme.

“We hope UNHCR can give its cooperation,” he said at a press conference after visiting the refugees registration centre in Bangsar South yesterday.

Initiated in April, the programme would issue a special identity card, MyRC, which is certified by the government, to all refugees registered under the scheme. Nur Jazlan said the government would give another six months deadline for all the 150,000 UNHCR card holders to register.

He added the ministry could also go directly to the refugees to get them to register.

“We know where they are (the refugees). They are (concentrated) in the Klang Valley, Cameron Highlands and the west region of Pahang. We can go to them directly.

“It is just that we respect the UNHCR and we want its cooperation.

“It will be easier if it can send the refugees here to register.”

Nur Jazlan said the vetting process was important to avoid refugees from being used in trans-boundary crime and terrorism activities by irresponsible parties.

He also gave an assurance that the government would respect their refugee status despite being registered under the system.

The MyRC would contain the refugees’ personal information and biometric data that are kept in a database for monitoring purposes.

This would allow for the authorities to easily identify UNHCR card holders.