UMNO vice-president Mohamed Khaled Nordin has suggested that Putrajaya allow refugees to work in the country after registering with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

“We don’t have to import millions of unskilled labourers through various complicated deals. These refugees can work instead.

“This will allow them to develop skills, sustain themselves and reduce the burden on the government,” he said in a Facebook post today.

The former Johor menteri besar said escapes, protests and riots at such centres were not new.

“It is a recurring issue and is probably due to overcrowding in detention blocks, long detention periods and the limited government resources in managing such centres,” he said in the post.

Khaled said the continued and prolonged detention was a human rights violation and a waste of public funds.

In his post, Khalid said close cooperation must be enhanced with the UNHCR so that the refugees can be immediately relocated and begin life anew in third countries.

He said Malaysia must show its commitment to managing refugee-related policies more transparently and responsibly.

In the early hours of yesterday morning, 528 Rohingya detainees escaped from the detention centre, six of whom were killed when attempting to cross the North-South Expressway at KM168 southbound near Jawi, Nibong Tebal.

The centre was a former national service training camp and had been repurposed as a centre to hold refugees with Covid-19.

Police managed to apprehend most of the escapees but the search – alongside the Immigration Department and Rela – continues for the remainder. – April 21, 2022.