THE new government must not withdraw recognition of United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) cards for asylum seekers and refugees, said activists.

They told The Malaysian Insight the stakeholders must be consulted in policy making for these groups.

They also want the Anwar Ibrahim government to continue working with the UNHCR instead of shutting down agency in Malaysia.

Adrian Pereira of North South Initiative urged Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail not to proceed with the plan to cancel the UNHCR card.

He said the last government’s plan for refugees would cost Malaysia more while making the target groups open to exploitation.

Pereira referred to the Tracking Refugees Information System (TRIS) introduced by the former home minister in July to store the data of UNHCR cardholders.

The system issues the cardholders with a new identification document called the MyRC. 

Pereira said there were fears third parties would take advantage of the process to exploit the refugees.

“Refugees have to pay RM500 to get a card issued by the Malaysian government. However, the UNHCR card is issued to qualified refugee groups for free,” he said.

The new card is unnecessary because the Malaysian government should leave the job of determining the status of refugees to the UN, he said.

“The UNHCR’s job is to determine who is a refugee before issuing a refugee card,” he added.

In addition, he said, the new system could also be corrupted.

“Considering the history of corruption in our government system, we should avoid the process of issuing new refugee cards altogether,” Pereira said.

“Saifuddin should talk to refugee welfare groups before taking any new steps.”

He also urged the Malaysian government should sign the UN refugee convention and release all the refugees and asylum seekers who were locked up.

“Refugees and asylum seekers should not be in detention. Release them and give them appropriate assistance at once,” he added.

Activist Alex Ong of MigrantCARE said efforts to replace the UNHCR card with the TRIS system are a waste of time and money.

He said Malaysia needed better control over the illegal migration.

He said the TRIS refugee card is not recognised by other countries.

Refugee activist James Bawi said Malaysia should adhere to international norms when dealing with refugees.

He said the issue of a new refugee card should not have been a unilateral decision.

“The matter should have been debated in parliament and recognised through an act of law instead of being decided by a single ministry.

“The new government should retain the UNHCR issued card and establish better cooperation with the agency to improve the lives of refugees,” he said.

Hamzah has said in July that Malaysia did not need to recognise the UNHCR card and international protocols because it is not a member of the UN convention for refugees.

The TRIS card would ensure that only refugees identified by the government can stay in the country, he had said.

Hamzah had also proposed for the UNHCR to be closed down in Malaysia, saying the country could manage refugee issues on its own.

Suaram executive director Sevan Doraisamy said it is important for the new government to keep UNHCR in Malaysia.

“Refugees and their welfare, including their children’s education, are important issues that need immediate attention from the current government and it must work closely with UN bodies, including UNHCR, to address them,” he said.

“It is important to meet with the stakeholders immediately to discuss these and other alarming issues in relation to refugees in Malaysia.

“By doing so, the new government can develop better checks and balances for refugee management and also resolve many longstanding issues related to refugees in Malaysia.” – December 16, 2022.