PUTRAJAYA will implement an electronic system to better track the flow of refugees into Malaysia, the New Straits Times reported Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed as saying today. 

This will be in addition to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) efforts to keep track of Rohingya refugees entering the country as violence flares up in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.

“The police are putting in place a digital identification and biometric system for refugees via the new Tracking Refugee Information System. 

“This (aside from the UNHCR issued refugee card) will allow the government access to updated and extensive data on refugees in the country.”

He said the system was still at the “Proof of Concept (POC)” stage, but it would allow law enforcers to detect transnational crimes, terrorists and human trafficking activities.

The government would also be able to get information and biometric data of refugees and asylum seekers in the UNHCR database through the system. 

He said Malaysia was still a “transit nation” for those fleeing persecution in Myanmar, deputy home minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed said, but expressed concerns about the possibility of insurgents from Rakhine state in Myanmar entering Malaysia and turning the country into a place where they train and develop their network.

Nur Jazlan said the government had set September 30 as the deadline for 150,000 UNHCR refugees to register for the MyRC  identity card, which has 21 security features. However, only 300 had applied until early last month. – September 5, 2017.