Home minister says refugee registration does not lead to permanent settlement, with outcomes limited to repatriation, resettlement or deportation
TAPAH: Malaysia’s Refugee Registration Document (DPP) programme does not guarantee refugees permanent residence in the country, as the management of refugees and asylum seekers will ultimately end in one of three outcomes, namely repatriation, resettlement in a third country or deportation.
Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the pilot programme, which officially began on Jan 1 this year, was implemented in line with National Security Council Directive No. 23 (Revised 2023) to ensure a more systematic, organised and humanitarian approach to managing refugees and asylum seekers in the country.
“The possible end results of the DPP programme remain three. Registration under the DPP and matching refugees with employers does not mean they can permanently settle here. The end result will still be repatriation, third-country resettlement or deportation,” he told a press conference after a working visit to the Refugee and Asylum Seeker Special Detention Centre (PPKPPS) in Bidor today.
Also present were Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban and Bukit Aman Internal Security and Public Order Department director Datuk Seri Mohd Yusri Hassan Basri.
The minister said the first phase of the DPP programme focuses on the Refugee Status Determination (RSD) process involving refugees, mainly Rohingya from Myanmar, currently detained at immigration depots nationwide.
At the same time, Saifuddin noted that the Home Ministry (KDN) is leading the involvement of 20 ministries and government agencies in collecting personal information, biometric data, facial recognition and voice recordings through a system developed by the Malaysia Institute of Microelectronic Systems (MIMOS) to establish a comprehensive domestic database.
“The refugees come from various countries, but for the first phase, we are prioritising Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, who numbered 4,008 out of the total 4,010 individuals involved. The other two are a Sudanese and a Syrian,” he said.
He stressed that the database could also support future job-matching initiatives involving refugees aged between 20 and 40 to fill vacancies in five key economic sectors, namely manufacturing, construction, agriculture, plantations and services.
The move, he said, would help balance employers’ labour needs with the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP), which aims to reduce the ceiling for foreign workers to 10 per cent, or a maximum of 1.7 million workers out of the country’s estimated 17 million workforce.
On developments at the Bidor detention centre, which has a capacity of 400 people, Saifuddin said 101 Rohingya detainees from Myanmar, comprising 100 men and one woman, are currently being housed there, with 78 already granted refugee status under the DPP programme.
He said that the DPP programme is expected to be rolled out nationwide by early next month after all security-related standard operating procedures (SOPs) have been finalised by the authorities.
“By June 1, we will roll out the programme for that group of 4,010 refugees. Since implementation began on Jan 1, we have been testing the system and the screening questionnaires,” he added.
