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KUALA LUMPUR (Bernama): The government, through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is identifying other countries that are willing to receive refugees, especially the Rohingya, who have stayed in Malaysia, Dewan Negara has been told.
However, the Deputy Minister of the Prime Minister’s Department (Special Functions), Datin Mastura Mohd Yazid, said that a humanitarian policy should be considered at all times, even though Malaysia has not ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention under the United Nations.
“The important thing is that your safety and your life are not threatened.
“We must also update our laws so that if we proceed to ratify the convention, it would put the rights of our citizens first, compared to the rights of refugees,” he said in response to a follow-up question from Senator Datuk A. Kesavadas. on the government’s efforts to negotiate with Myanmar or any other third country to resettle the refugees.
Mastura added that government policy also does not allow any refugees to stay in the country for long, as Malaysia has yet to ratify the convention internationally.
“If they can be relocated to a third country or to their country of origin, and if that does not endanger their safety, we will relocate them,” he said in response to a follow-up question from Senator Dr. Yaakob Sapari about the future of refugees. second and third generation if they refused to return to their country of origin and if the government will offer them citizenship.
Earlier, in answering Yaakob’s original question about the number of refugees in the country, Mastura said that according to statistics from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), 177,921 foreigners had entered Malaysia and the commission had given international protection in July. 31, comprising 128,185 refugees and 49,736 asylum seekers.
On the welfare aspect, he said the government has stipulated in principle that refugees who are UNHCR cardholders, such as the Rohingya, are eligible for treatment at government hospitals and clinics at a 50% discount from the price imposed on them. expatriates.
“The government had also carried out various initiatives to assist this group, including assistance from the Qatari government through the Qatar Development Fund on issues related to health, basic education and vocational training,” he said. – Bernama
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