Putrajaya mulls special pass for Syrian stranded at klia2

Home ministry says the 36-year-old needs to be screened to prevent IS elements from entering the country.

Hassan al Kontar fears arrest if he is sent back to Syria.

PUTRAJAYA: The home ministry is mulling issuing a special pass under the Temporary Relocation Programme for Syrian Migrants to a Syrian man who has been stranded at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport 2 (klia2) in Sepang for over a month.

However, Deputy Home Minister Nur Jazlan Mohamed said the 36-year-old would have to undergo security screening like other Syrian migrants before the pass could be issued.

“This is because we need to investigate the background of the individual to prevent elements of terrorism, including IS, from entering the country.

“We need to be careful in considering the application, especially from people of war-torn countries,” he told a press conference here today.

According to reports, Hassan al Kontar claimed he had been living at the airport since March 7, for fear of being arrested if sent back to Syria where a civil war has been raging for the past seven years.

He has been posting video blogs of his daily life on Twitter and Facebook, which attracted the attention of human rights groups and the media. - FMT