Radzi wants action taken against UNHCR for refugee registration

KUALA LUMPUR: An opposition member of parliament wants action taken against the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin (PN-Putrajaya) said this was because the organisation was still registering people despite a cabinet decision for it to stop.

"If the government's decision is to stop, then stop. UNHCR must stop, and the government must ensure that it stops registering any new refugees. This is the right of our country as a sovereign nation," he said.

Radzi was debating the 2027 Supply Bill at the committee stage in the Dewan Rakyat.

He warned against letting the public feel that UNHCR "does as it pleases".

"We must not wait for the people to take to the streets," he said.

He cited a July 23 Dewan Negara reply by Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Lukanisman Awang Sauni that the cabinet had told UNHCR to stop registering refugees while the Refugee Registration Document (DPP) programme was restructured.

The National Security Council (NSC) later said the rise in refugees was due to outstanding applications, he said.

"Who holds power in this country now? The cabinet decided that UNHCR must stop registering any new refugees," he said.

He claimed a UNHCR registration card dated Oct 29 this year had gone viral on social media, and that he visited the UNHCR website and found he could still enter details for Malaysia.

Lukanisman affirmed in winding-up for his ministry that the policy was to direct UNHCR to stop all registrations.

"However, we acknowledge that monitoring of UNHCR's process may not yet have been tightened, because we are finalising the use of the DPP card for registration under a module introduced by the Malaysian government," he said.

Lukanisman said there was still a backlog that had not been processed.

"The DPP has shown that we can register the refugees ourselves. However, we still face manpower constraints in carrying out registration on a large scale," he said.

Lukanisman said Malaysia could not reject UNHCR outright immediately.

"We have stated our position that they should stop registration.

"At the same time, we need to refine what the balance is of the refugees still on UNHCR's list, so that there are no errors or abuse of registration by UNHCR that could create bigger issues between Malaysia and the body," he said.