The government expects to obtain its first set of preliminary data on refugees registered under the Refugee Registration Document (DPP) programme in the fourth quarter of this year, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
He said the Home Ministry, through the Immigration Department, was currently working with relevant parties to collect and verify information on refugees in Malaysia.
“I expect we will obtain the first data in the fourth quarter of this year, now it is August. Whatever the number is, I will share it with the media later,” he told reporters after the Star City FC Tour Convoy flag-off ceremony on August 9, Bernama reported.
The DPP programme is being implemented by KDN and JIM to enable the government to manage refugees in a more organised manner, in line with National Security Council Directive No. 23 (Revision 2023).
The programme is intended to provide the government with more accurate, complete and verifiable biometric and identity information on individuals identified as refugees in Malaysia.
Saifuddin Nasution said the information gathered would also facilitate the government’s efforts to manage the repatriation of refugees through Wisma Putra.
“If they are legitimate refugees, then they will certainly be among the first groups we will manage to repatriate. That will be handled by Wisma Putra.
“We are conducting a data collection. We need to have a mechanism to reach out to them and publicise that the Malaysian Government is conducting a data collection and we will ask them to come forward,” he said.
He stressed that the data collection exercise was not limited to Myanmar refugees, but covered all individuals identified as refugees in Malaysia.
The initiative comes as the government seeks to establish a clearer picture of the refugee population through a centralised system containing verified biometric and identity information.