Another 500 Syrian refugees will be entering Malaysia, by end of the year

KUALA LUMPUR: Another 500 Syrian refugees are expected to enter the country by year-end, said Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman.
Anifah said the entry of the Syrians was part of a pledge made by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak to receive 3000 refugees from the war-torn country within three years.
He said so far, a total of 78 Syrian refugees have settled in Malaysia after they fled the civil war in their home country.
"We expect that in the near time this year, we will receive another 500 refugees from Syria," he told the Dewan Rakyat during the Minister's Question Time.
He was responding to a question from (DAP - Ipoh Barat) who asked how many Syrian refugees are expected to enter the country.
Najib in a speech made at the United Nation General Assembly last year expressed the country's readiness to accept refugees from Syria to alleviate the refugee crisis.
Anifah said the government has taken a counter narrative effort to investigate why Malaysians were going to Syria as foreign fighters.
He said Malaysia as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council is concerned over the civil war in Syria.
"The conflict does not seem to be ending. World superpowers are unable to find peaceful ways to end the conflict," he said.
Anifah said the conflict has displaced more than four million Syrians who have fled to neigbouring Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan.