A Malaysian official has revealed that the authorities do not intend to provide programs for Rohingya refugees to help them integrate with the local community where this step can be seen as an attempt to give them citizenship.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim said that the refugees were currently granted only the cards of the UNHCR, which was equipped with high security features. “If we offer them (merger programs), then we have an intention to give them citizenship, and if we open this area, I am sure that others will want to come here.”
Such programs would discourage Rohingya refugees from returning to their homeland or traveling to a third country, he said.
He said there were a total of 16,809 Rohingya refugee children holding UNHCR cards in the country.
