Immigration director-general says depot cannot house 113 refugees including Rohingya as they hold UNHCR cards.
KUALA LUMPUR: The Immigration Depot cannot be used to house 113 refugees, including 110 Rohingya nationals, who are currently under the temporary supervision of the Kuala Lumpur Police Headquarters (IPK).
Immigration director-general Datuk Zakaria Shaaban said the Immigration Depot is only used to house foreigners who do not have any valid travel documents or identification documents.
He said any individual who holds a United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) card is allowed to stay in Malaysia on humanitarian grounds, but their status is still subject to local laws in force.
“All 113 refugees cannot be housed at the Immigration Depot. They are currently under the temporary supervision of police, while waiting for their placement to be finalised,” he said when contacted here today.
Zakaria stressed that although UNHCR cardholders were granted permission to stay in the country on humanitarian grounds, the authorities would not compromise on any violation of the country’s laws and regulations.
As of now, the decision regarding the new location for the resettlement of all the refugees has not yet been finalised and they are still temporarily housed at Dataran Wira, Kuala Lumpur IPK before receiving further instructions from the authorities.
