KUALA LUMPUR: Government and opposition members of Parliament have urged that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) no longer be given the mandate to register refugees in the country.
Lawmaker RSN Rayer (PH-Jelutong) said the Home Ministry should be given full responsibility for refugee registration, alongside an integrated nationwide operation to monitor their whereabouts.
"The Home Ministry should be given the full mandate and that an integrated operation be conducted nationwide to monitor the whereabouts of these refugees, whose number has reached 220,000," he told the Dewan Rakyat today.
He was speaking during a debate on the briefing on refugee management.
Rayer said Malaysians had been tolerant and compassionate, and willing to help those fleeing difficulties in their home countries.
