Malaysia’s Rohingya face new threat of removal as biometric documentation begins
Rohingya are often undocumented as Myanmar’s authorities refuse to recognise them as a legitimate community
As Malaysia does not formally recognise refugees, arrivals are at constant risk of detention by authorities or exploitation by criminal gangs running a shadow labour economy.
Against this backdrop, Malaysia started rolling out a registration scheme on January 1 to document detainees, many of them refugees expelled in 2017 or later arrivals from Bangladeshi refugee camps.
Fears of new Rohingya crisis as boat capsizes near Malaysia
The Refugee Registration Document (DPP) is a first step to deciding who should be detained, deported or is eligible for transfer to safe third countries under UN refugee resettlement projects, according to the Home Ministry.