Malaysia says UNHCR data shows 219,472 refugees and asylum seekers, while authorities continue cracking down on fake UNHCR card syndicates.
PETALING JAYA: A total of 219,472 refugees and asylum seekers were registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office here as of April.
Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the total comprised 152,979 recognised refugees and 66,493 asylum seekers from about 60 countries, including Myanmar, Syria, Pakistan, Yemen and Afghanistan.
However, he said the data was compiled entirely by the UNHCR office without the involvement of any government ministry, department or agency.
“The data shared by UNHCR may not reflect the actual number or situation, as the process of granting and recording refugee and asylum-seeker status is carried out entirely by the UNHCR office in Kuala Lumpur,” he said in a written parliamentary reply dated July 13.
Zahid, who is also Rural and Regional Development Minister, said those registered included 100,184 adult men, 50,474 adult women, 35,345 boys and 33,469 girls.
He also disclosed several investigations into fraudulent UNHCR cards since 2023.
Six Myanmar nationals were brought to court on Dec 27, 2024, over document forgery offences following an investigation by the police’s Commercial Crime Investigation Department.
In June 2024, Johor Immigration authorities dismantled a syndicate in Kluang that allegedly produced fraudulent UNHCR cards targeting Myanmar’s Arakan ethnic community.
Investigations found that the syndicate had been active for more than five years. The suspects, all Myanmar nationals, were investigated under the Immigration Act 1959/63 and the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act 2007.
“In February 2024, police dismantled another UNHCR card-forgery syndicate in Penang that had been active for two years.
“Sixteen raids were conducted, while more than 700 UNHCR cards were sold within a year,” he said.
