NO special privilege is given to children of Rohingya refugees born in Malaysia, said Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Shahidan Kassim.

“We have to remember that we have our own problems to solve, and we cannot openly invite refugees into the country,” he said in response to a question by Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar, who quoted a Universiti Malaya proposal for the government to provide an assimilation programme for the refugees to understand Malaysian culture.

“Assimilation is a process towards having the refugees reside in the country eventually,” said Shahidan.

“If the government implements an assimilation programme, it means we are working towards giving them Malaysian nationality.

“The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) should put in effort to resettle the refugees in a third country or return them to their home country.”

He said Rohingya refugees in Malaysia who had an official identity card from UNHCR were free to travel in the peninsula and practise their culture and religion, as well as got a 50% discount at government hospitals and had access to private education.

“The government does not recognise the term ‘refugees’ for those of Rohingya ethnicity because Malaysia is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, nor the 1967 protocol.

“However, the government allows those who possess a valid UNHCR card, including Rohingya refugees, to stay in the country until they are sent home or are resettled to a third country,” he said at the Dewan Rakyat today.

On Rohingya children’s education, Shahidan said the government allowed those with the UNHCR card to enrol in private institutions, adding that they did not have access to the public education system as they were not Malaysian.

“The deputy prime minister had a meeting on providing job opportunities to the refugees, and a certain number of them will be allowed to work in the country.

“However, many know that refugees prefer working by themselves and have side jobs that could benefit them more than what the government provides,” he said when asked by Ketereh MP Annuar Musa if the government had long-term solutions or additional incentives to ensure that the refugees received higher attention.

Shahidan said as of March this year, the government allowed Rohingya refugees with the UNHCR card to work in the factory or farming sector for a three-month period. – August 1, 2017.