Only 291 UNHCR card holders registered under govt programme to vet refugees

KUALA LUMPUR: Only 291 people who hold the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) card have registered under the Tracking Refugees Information System (TRIS), a government-sanctioned programme to vet refugees currently residing in Malaysia.
Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said the number was a far cry compared to the total number of refugees and asylum seekers registered under UNHCR, which currently stood at 150,000 people.
He added UNHCR had failed to give its cooperation to the government by providing the database of its card holders to be registered under the programme.
"This is a very slow progress, as we want to register all 150,000 refugees (UNHCR card holders) under the programme. We hope UNHCR can give their cooperation," he told a press conference after visiting the refugee registration centre in Bangsar South.
The programme, which was initiated in April 2017, would issue all refugees registered under the scheme a special identity card MyRC which is certified by the government.
Nur Jazlan said the government would provide a deadline of another six months to allow all of the 150,000 UNHCR card holders to get themselves registered.
He added the ministry would not hesitate to go directly to the refugees in order to get them registered under the system.
"We know where they are (the refugees). They are (concentrated) in the Klang Valley, Cameron Highlands and the west region of Pahang.
"We know where they are and we can go to them directly. It is just that we respect UNHCR and we want their cooperation. It will be easier if they can send the refugees here to register," he added.
Nur Jazlan said the vetting process was important in order to avoid the refugees from being used by irresponsible parties to participate in trans-boundary crime and terrorism.
He also called for the refugees to not be worried as the government would respect their refugee status despite being registered under the system.
"The question on whether they will be relocated to a third country does not arise. The registration is for their own good," he added.
The MyRC isssued to registered refugees under the system would contain their personal information and biometric data that are kept in a database for monitoring purposes.
This would allow for the authorities, such as the police and Immigration Department, to easily identify UNHCR card holders.