MalayMail/Antara-July 29
Malaysia should review the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ (UNHCR) formal presence in the country if the agency continues to resist cooperation on refugee management, said Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan. The foreign minister warned that stringent screening must be a prerequisite before any UNHCR refugee cards are issued, arguing that the current lack of coordination has turned Malaysia into a “magnet” for asylum seekers, NST reported. “If they are unwilling to cooperate, then it is time for us to reconsider UNHCR’s presence in the country. That is my view, so that we are not continually burdened,” Mohamad said after inspecting early voting for the Negri Sembilan election at the Sendayan Air Base yesterday.The minister highlighted a critical flaw in the current process: the ability of applicants to submit requests online while still in Myanmar and simply collect their cards upon arrival in Malaysia. He argued that this bypasses proper security screening and leaves the country vulnerable. “We must have an international agreement specifying what they can and cannot do. At the moment, there appears to be nothing. They do not have a standard operating procedure,” he added, stressing that the Home Ministry is now tightening its oversight to ensure every applicant is thoroughly vetted before approval. However, this hardline stance has sparked a debate over the systemic vacuum that UNHCR currently fills. Wan Mimi Zarina Wan Azmin, a former UNHCR head of education and current CEO of Muslim Aid Malaysia, argued that the agency’s presence is merely an interim measure because Malaysia lacks its own refugee management system. refugees in the 1970s, she argued that Malaysia has had five decades to perfect a national framework. She urged the government to stop framing the issue as a binary choice between protecting citizens and protecting refugees. Read more at:https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2026/07/29/tok-mat-warns-unhcr-cooperate-on-refugee-screening-in-malaysia-or-face-exit/229312
