‘M’sia not ready to protect refugees’

PETALING JAYA: Australia’s opposition immigration spokesman, Scott Morrison, has expressed grave doubts over Malaysia’s ability to ensure the safety and protection of refugees involved in the proposed swap deal between both countries.

The controversial deal involves 800 refugees being sent to Malaysia from Australia in exchange for 4,000 refugees being sent from here to there.

Local activists have called for a complete rejection of the deal considering Malaysia’s poor human rights record and its reluctance to ratify the Refugee Convention.

Morrison arrived in Kuala Lumpur last Friday for a first-hand look at how refugees and asylum seekers live and are treated in Malaysia. He visited a Chin community yesterday and will be visiting the KLIA detention centre later this afternoon.

“My purpose has been to understand the challenges and difficulties that have been presented by working through this arrangement,” he told the press after a closed-door meeting with non-governmental organisation, Tenaganita, this morning.

“My initial impression is that the practical difficulties of providing the guarantees that the Australian public would demand are insurmountable. We’re talking about the most basic things like the right to education and access to health care, which is not available to refugees here.”

“There should also be freedom to move around without fear. But from what I understand, fear drives the anxiety and depression here. The invisible way in which the refugees live here is a very significant challenge.”

Morrison also questioned the significance of the special immunity tag promised to the 800 refugees which would provide them immunity from Malaysia’s immigration laws.

Ground sentiment

He pointed out that even now a refugee who possesses an UNHCR card is not protected from arrests and detention by the authorities here.

“There would be a challenge in getting the message out to police and Rela officers who would need to understand a new card system,” he said. “Another challenge is the length of stay here before refugees are resettled.”

“In Malaysia, five years is the minimum after a refugee is registered. But that is the maximum length of time in Nauru. The contrast between Malaysia and Nauru couldn’t be more stark.”

“I can give guarantees and assurances for Nauru which I have also visited but having been here, I struggle to understand how the Australian prime minister can (give the same to Malaysia).”

When asked about the ground sentiment in Australia, Morrison said that public opinion polls have shown that a majority of Australians support Nauru (an island in the South Pacific) above Malaysia.

“The more people understand the realities of this refugee swap and what it means for those involved, the more is their negative perception of it,” he added.

“This is the purpose of my ‘consultations’ with the refugees in Malaysia. If the Australian government is going to go through with this swap, then we all need to know what we’re signing up for.”

Morrison will be meeting opposition MPs and key senior officials from the home ministry later this afternoon. Among the MPs he will meet are Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim, Batu MP Tian Chua and PKR Selayang MP William Leong.

Meanwhile, Tenaganita director Irene Fernandez said she was happy with the morning discussion and reiterated Tenaganita’s rejection of the swap.

“We cannot allow them to come into a harsh environment where there is intense human rights violations,” she said. “We look forward to what Morrison will bring back home and we call on Australians to reject this deal.”

Lack of support

Meanwhile, Morrison also told The Australian newspaper that he had been struck by the lack of community support arrangements for Middle Eastern asylum seekers here.

“The Burmese community groups have built up informal networks of support for their own people which depend on the charity and goodwill of benefactors and each other,” he said.

“There is no such community for asylum seekers from the Middle East.”

There are more than 96,000 refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia, the vast majority of whom – 85,000 – are Burmese.

According to the latest figures from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, there are just 490 Afghans. Afghan Hazaras have traditionally formed the bulk of Australia-bound asylum seekers.