Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said detainees would be classified as refugees only after a comprehensive verification process involving security screening by the immigration department, the police and other relevant agencies. (File pic)PARIT BUNTAR: The government will begin implementing the Refugee Registration Document initiative, starting with detainees at immigration depots, as part of efforts to establish a national refugee database managed directly by Malaysia.Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said there are about 21,000 detainees at immigration depots nationwide, with about 4,000 claiming refugee status.“At present, refugee management in Malaysia falls under the mandate of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Kuala Lumpur," he said on the sidelines of an event here today."They are responsible for registration, verification, the issuance of refugee cards, and related processes.“Are we fully satisfied with this arrangement? That is why the government is introducing a second approach, whereby the government itself will undertake the refugee registration process.”He said an individual would qualify as a genuine refugee only after a comprehensive verification process involving security screening by the immigration department, the police and other relevant agencies.“Once all these processes are completed, the government will decide whether an individual genuinely qualifies for refugee status," he said.Saifuddin said the UNHCR estimated that there are between 190,000 and 200,000 refugees in the country.He also said the possession of the Refugee Registration Document would not alter the existing long-term solutions for refugees - resettlement in a third country or repatriation to their country of origin once conditions there are peaceful and safe.
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