PUTRAJAYA: The Cabinet today decided today not to allow United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNCHR) to issue its refugee identification card to walk-in applicants.

He said the international body should seek permission from the Home Ministry to issue such cards.

“I have met the UNCHR representatives several times, and expressed our concern over how such cards can be issued without the knowledge of the authorities such as the Immigration Department and police.

“They should only issue the cards once the status of the applicants have been confirmed by the authorities,” he told reporters at the Prime Minister’s Department Hari Raya Aidilfitri celebration today.

The UNHCR cards, he added, should only be given to those detained at immigration depots or those had received the green light from the Home Ministry and the Immigration Department.

UNHCR Representative in Malaysia, Richard Towie was reported as saying there were 154,140 refugees and asylum-seekers registered with the international body as of April, with the majority of them being from Myanmar.

A total of 139,780 refugees and asylum-seekers were from Myanmar, with the rest coming from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Somalia, Syria, Iraq, Iran, Palestine and other nations, he said. -nst