Registration a timely move, says Kohilan

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PETALING JAYA: The exercise to register asylum-seekers and refugees in the country is a timely move, A. Kohilan Pillay said.
The Deputy Foreign Minister said it was crucial for the Government to know their exact number.
“We need to know how many of them are here and which countries they have come from,” said Kohilan of the joint exercise between Malaysia and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The exercise, scheduled to commence in January, will see the UNHCR working with the Home Ministry, Foreign Ministry, National Security Council and Immigration Department.
UNHCR representative Alan Vernon said the agreement was formulated after a series of meetings with the Government.

Ratify Refugee Convention, Govt urged

PETALING JAYA: Human rights activists and the Bar Council want the Government to be a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention before registering asylum-seekers and refugees in the country.
Suhakam commissioner James Nayagam said such a move would put Malaysia on a positive platform in the international scene.
He said the new registration exercise would lower the number of refugee and asylum-seeker arrests as law enforcers could verify their identities quickly.
“It will also help reduce cases of immigrants who enter the country to work but produce fake United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) documents when caught,” he said in an interview yesterday.
He hoped the registration process would be access-friendly for refugees and asylum-seekers and urged the Government to provide them with one-stop centres.
Bar Council president Lim Chee Wee said the registration exercise was a step in the right direction but more needed to be done.
“We need to enact laws to promote and protect internationally-recognised rights of asylum-seekers and their rights to livelihood, healthcare and education,” he said.
“The Prime Minister wants us to be the best democracy, and if this is to be so, then we must demonstrate compassion on how we treat the vulnerable and weak.”
Lim said amendments to laws like the Immigration Act was necessary to recognise the legal status of asylum-seekers.
Amnesty International-Malaysia executive director Nora Murat also said Malaysia should agree to the convention before proceeding with the new registration exercise.
Association for the Promotion of Human Rights president Tan Sri Simon Sipaun said it was ironic that even with the registration, asylum-seekers were not recognised as refugees.
“How can you sign an agreement when you do not recognise them as refugees?” he asked, adding that asylum-seekers would still be treated as illegal immigrants even if they were registered.
Chin Refugee Committee co-ordinator Henry Pin Maunt Shwe said the agreement between the Government and UNHCR was a step in assuring safety of asylum-seekers and refugees.
“When they have registered, they can get a proper job and provide for their family.”

Working for refugee rights

PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia will undertake a joint exercise for the first time with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to register refugees and asylum seekers to ensure better protection for them.
The move, expected to take off in January, involves some 94,800 refugees and asylum-seekers whose status is already confirmed by the UNHCR in Malaysia.
The inclusion of their biodata within a government database is expected to lead to greater protection for the refugees, said UNHCR representative Alan Vernon, particularly against arrest and detention as their identities could then be easily verified by law enforcement officials.
“This will also help prevent prosecution of persons holding UNHCR documents for immigration offences or deportation. It will also help address the problem of fraudulent UNHCR identification cards,” Vernon said in a statement yesterday.
The exercise will be carried out progressively in major cities where the refugees are located.
The effort involves the Home and Foreign ministries, the Immigration Department, the National Security Council and the UNHCR.

Data from the refugee agency shows that most of the refugees registered with the UNHCR here are from Myanmar, numbering 87,000 persons or about 90% of the total asylum-seeker population in the country.
Others who have sought refuge in Malaysia are Sri Lankans (4,200), Somalis (1,000), Iraqis (720) and Afghans (440).
The data, last updated in September, shows that some 71% of refugees and asylum-seekers are men. Children also make up a significant part of the refugee community, numbering 19,200.
However, a large number of asylum-seekers are believed to be unregistered.
Vernon said the exercise would be separate from the Home Ministry’s ongoing 6P programme involving illegal immigrants.
The six-step programme, which comprises registration, legalisation, amnesty, supervision, enforcement and deportation has seen – as of last week – a total of 25,561 illegal immigrants being granted amnesty and leaving the country.
“While Malaysia is not yet a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, UNHCR very much appreciates the cooperation we enjoy with the Malaysian Government and look forward to continuing discussions on how to strengthen refugee protection in Malaysia, including creating opportunities for legal work for refugees as well as enhanced access to education and health services,” Vernon added.
The issue came to surface recently after the Malaysia-Australia refugee swap deal was shelved last month.
The majority of lawmakers in Australia were against legislation that would have enabled Australia to send 800 new boat arrivals to Malaysia in return for Australia resettling 4,000 registered refugees from Kuala Lumpur.

Income tax officer collects double tax from owners of old vehicles in Maungdaw

Maungdaw, Arakan State: The income tax officer has been collecting double tax from the owners of old vehicles in Maungdaw since October 31, said a vehicle owner.
“The new civilianized government had announced a policy for vehicle owners hand over old vehicles to the authorities, and the owners would then be issued a permit to import a new vehicle. But in Maungdaw and Buthidaung, most of the owners of old vehicles are members of the Rohingya community and are not able to hand over the old vehicles in Akyab (Sittwe) because of restrictions to their movements,” the source explained.
“Therefore, the old vehicles’ owners from northern Arakan State sold their old vehicles to members of the Rakhine community from Akyab who are working on this business.”
The Maungdaw income tax office issued a letter to all owners of old vehicles to meet an officer on 31 October. At the meeting, Assistant Income Tax Officer Sein Shin asked the owners who sold their vehicles to pay sales tax, said an officer from the income tax office of Maungdaw.
“Sales tax was already paid by the Rakhines who bought the vehicles from Rohingya owners and paid tax in Akyab before they handed over the vehicles to the authorities to get a permit to import a new vehicle.”
“Usually the sales tax is paid by buyer, not the seller.”
Now the Maungdaw income tax officer is asking for more sales tax from Rohingya vehicle owners, which has made the Rohingya community uneasy in their business, said an old businessman from Maungdaw.
“The old vehicles are very old – some were used in World War II, and the Rohingya are keeping these kind of vehicles for transport in northern Arakan.”

Body of boatperson found offshore from Teknaf

Teknaf, Bangladesh: The dead body of a boatperson was found offshore of Shaplapur by police of Bahar Sara, Teknaf, on 1 November, said a fisherman from the locality.
“A dead body floating in the sea was seen in the morning by local fishermen who informed the police station.”
Upon being informed, the policemen rushed to the spot and recovered the dead body, according to police.
“The dead body was sent to the government hospital of Cox’s Bazar for an autopsy.”
On 31 October, a group of sixty boatpeople returned to Bangladesh after water began entering into their boat and they felt that it was very risky for their lives if they continued their journey to Malaysia, said one of the returnees.
Of them, twenty-five boatpeople were arrested by police, while the others ran way.

Nasaka collects money for sacrificial cattle

Maungdaw, Arakan State: Burma’s border security force (Nasaka), has been collecting money from villagers transporting sacrificial cattle to markets to sell in Maungdaw Township since 1 November, said an elder from the village who declined to be named.
“A group of Nasaka personnel from Nari Bill outpost camp, under the Nasaka area No. 6 of Maungdaw Township, goes to a bridge from which villagers have to cross to go to other places, villages, or markets. From this point, the Nasaka collects Kyat 8,000 per head of cattle when villagers try to pass.”
“They also rob the villagers who cross the bridge even when they do not find any fault. The Nasaka wants money from the Rohingya community no matter what the pretense.”
Eid-ul-Azha (a great festival for Muslim people) will be celebrated on 1 November. The Rohingya villagers are busy buying and selling cattle in advance of the festival. They want to bring cattle from one place to another after crossing the said bridge. Taking advantage of this situation, the said Nasaka personnel are collecting money from the cattle traders, owners, and buyers illegally. The vilalgers have already paid money to the concerned authorities as a tax, said a local cattle trader on condition of anonymity.
According to villagers, the price of the cattle has skyrocketed this year compared to last year due to the scarcity of sacrificial animals.
The Maungdaw Administration Office ordered the Rohingya community to set up a market for their sacrificial animals between Myothugyi Village and the Three Miles Station, which is far from Maungdaw Town. Therefore, town dwellers are facing difficulties in buying animals for the sacrificial festival. Last year, the market was set up near Myoma Kayandan Village, which is only one mile away from Maungdaw, said an elder from Maungdaw.