00:00Malaysia has asked the United Nations Refugee Agency to temporarily suspend the registration of new refugees
00:07as the government moves to take greater control of its own asylum system.
00:12Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Lukanisman Awang Sauni says the request would support the government's
00:17new domestic refugee registration program, which was launched in January.
00:24He said the system would allow authorities to verify identities, improve record-keeping
00:29and strengthen oversight of refugees living in Malaysia.
00:33The UN Refugee Agency says Malaysia was home to more than 215,000 registered refugees
00:40and asylum seekers at the end of February, with more than half of them Rohingya from Myanmar.
00:46Malaysia is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention,
00:50meaning refugees have no legal right to work or access formal education.
00:57Lukanisman also said the government plans to deport about 5,000 Myanmar nationals
01:01currently held in immigration detention centers, subject to Myanmar's agreement.
01:06The announcement comes amid rising online hate speech and misinformation targeting the Rohingya community,
01:12including claims that they are taking jobs and land from Malaysians.
01:21Lukanisman also said the Å› commission.
01:21L
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