PETALING JAYA: Malaysia aims to register 20,000 refugees under its Refugee Registration Document (DPP) programme next year as the government seeks to address gaps in the identities, whereabouts and security records of some 225,000 refugees recorded by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the government was targeting about 6,000 registrations this year, comprising 4,010 refugees held at immigration detention depots and another 2,000 living outside the facilities.
He said the target would be increased to 20,000 in 2027 as the authorities gained experience in implementing the registration programme.
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Saifuddin said Malaysia currently relied on refugee figures provided by UNHCR but lacked access to detailed personal information needed for identity verification and security screening.
“We only have the numbers. We do not know their names, where they are, how old they are or even their addresses, let alone their security screening status.
“We do not have that information,” he told the Dewan Rakyat during Minister’s Question Time today.
He said the DPP programme would enable the authorities to establish a national database containing refugees’ personal information, biometric records and security-screening results obtained through the police and the Immigration Department.
“This data is a security instrument. It is not merely a database.
“From there, we can formulate public policies and identify mechanisms for law enforcement,” he said.
Saifuddin was responding to a question on the government’s registration targets and implementation timeline for Rohingya refugees over the next two years.
He said the authorities had prioritised refugees already held at immigration detention depots because they were more accessible for identity verification and security checks.
Addressing concerns that the programme could encourage further refugee arrivals, Saifuddin said the government had introduced a cut-off date of January 2023 to prevent the registration exercise from becoming an incentive for new arrivals.
Refugees who entered Malaysia after the cut-off date would not be eligible for consideration under the programme.
He stressed that a credible national refugee database was necessary to address an issue with financial, social, economic, political and national security implications.