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PUTRAJAYA: Rohingya refugees have no status, right or basis to make demands on the Malaysian government, says Interior Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin.
He said that any society or organization claiming to represent the Rohingya here was illegal under the Company Registration Act.
“The Home Office carried out checks with the RoS and found that no organization with the name ‘Rohingya’ is registered in Malaysia.
“Any organization that claims to represent the Rohingya ethnic group is illegal under the RoS Act, and legal action can be taken.
“Therefore, Rohingya citizens who hold the card of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have no status, rights or basis to make any claims to the government,” he said Thursday (April 30). .
Recently, a series of statements by individuals from the Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organization of Myanmar in Malaysia demanded certain things from the Malaysian government, such as equal rights, job opportunities, access to health and education.
The lawsuits triggered a negative reaction among some Malaysians towards Rohingya refugees, and some of them urged the government to repatriate all Rohingya and stop accepting them.
According to records, as of March this year, there are 179,521 UNHCR cardholders in Malaysia, of whom 101,584 are Rohingya.
Hamzah said the ministry was aware of people’s concerns about Rohingya-related issues.
He noted that Malaysia was not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its Protocol, therefore there was no legal or administrative framework to monitor the status and rights of refugees here.
“The government does not recognize their status as refugees but as illegal immigrants who hold the UNHCR card,” he said Thursday.
However, Hamzah explained that on a humanitarian basis, these people were allowed to live in Malaysia temporarily before UNHCR places them in a third country.
“The government remains committed to ensuring the protection of public order. Any action by UNHCR cardholders that threatens peace and public order will not escape action,” he said.
He said that the police had received 19 reports against Rohingya throughout the movement control order (MCO) and that four investigative documents had been opened.
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