THE unity government has decided not to follow up with the previous administration’s call to shut down the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Malaysia, said sources.

Previously, National Security Council (NSC) director-general Rodzi Md Saad suggested the government shut the UN office and deal with refugees internally.

Sources however said the government held talks on the process and procedure in handling refugees, including asylum seekers.

“For now, the status quo remains. There was a dialogue on what role the government can play,” a source close to the matter told The Malaysian Insight.

Rodzi made the suggestion in September 2022, saying the move would allow Putrajaya to manage refugees in the country better without “interference” from external influences.

However, he acknowledged this wouldn’t be done anytime soon as the NSC needed to be strengthened.

The source said Putrajaya has no expertise to handle refugee matters on its own.

“The government can’t even handle migrant worker issues and they are thinking about handling refugees,” he said.

Another source, a former MP-cum-activist, confirmed plans to shut the UN office were cancelled.

He said Rodzi’s suggestion was made hastily and Malaysia may need a decade to learn how to better manage refugees should it want to handle the matter on its own.

“For now, we do not have the capability. Refugees are being handled by experts from all over the world and for us to learn from these experts may take us years.

“We can’t just assume we can handle that,” he said.

The Malaysian Insight reached out to the UNHCR and the Home Ministry for input.

In May, the government said it was considering entering an agreement with UNHCR on its role and responsibilities over refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia.

This was revealed by Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi after he chaired a meeting of the high-level committee on the management of refugees and asylum seekers in Putrajaya.

“UNHCR needs to carry out its responsibilities towards refugees and asylum seekers in the country in accordance with the mandate and functions of its establishment, and not place the burden of refugee management solely on the government or local community,” said Zahid.

Of all refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia, 160,332 people, or 86.3%, are from Myanmar, of which 107,433 are Rohingya.

There are 7,109 from Pakistan, 3,466 from Yemen, 3,444 from Afghanistan, 3,161 from Somalia and 3,161 from Syria. – September 4, 2023.