Umno vice-president Khaled Nordin today opined that Malaysia must improve in its treatment of refugees.
He said refugees should be allowed to register with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and be given freedoms, including the freedom to work.
"We don't have to import millions of unskilled labourers through various complicated deals. These refugees can be put to work.
"This will allow them to develop skills, sustain themselves and reduce the burden on the government," he said in a statement today.
Political opinions on the better treatment of refugees are rare among Umno leaders.
Successive BN governments had never ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention. The only Asean country that is a signatory is the Philippines.
As such, under Malaysian law, refugees have neither legal recognition nor UNHCR-issue identification cards, which can help refugees resettle in other countries.
Malaysia's treatment of refugees has come under the spotlight once again following the escape of 528 undocumented persons from a detention centre in Kedah.
Six people - including women and children - died while escaping.
According to Home Minister Hamzah Zainudin, all the detainees were from the Rohingya ethnic group and had been in detention since 2020.
Khaled said unrest at immigration detention centres is not new, suggesting that it had likely to do with the conditions and the long duration of detention.
"Prolonged detention without any clarity on their future is a violation of human rights.
"It’s also a waste of public funds," he added. - Mkini
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