Malaysia questioned UNHCR's role in refugee documentation as IOM urged authorities to recognise people trafficked into scam centres as victims needing protection, not criminals.
Geopolitics··Morning
Malaysia seeks joint screening
Malaysian Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan called for a review of UNHCR's presence unless refugee documentation is subject to stricter joint screening with local authorities. His statement followed the detention of more than 100 Rohingya asylum seekers who gathered outside UNHCR's Kuala Lumpur office after eviction from homes in Penang. UNHCR said it was working with authorities to protect them, verify their documents, and transfer them to alternative accommodation.[1]
Forced criminality in scam centres
In a separate Asia-Pacific pattern, IOM reported that jobseekers are trafficked into online scam centres and forced into criminal activity. The organisation assisted more than 3,500 victims from 39 countries between 2022 and 2025, and says victims have been trafficked from more than 80 countries. Recruited through social-media job advertisements, people are confined, deprived of their documents, and coerced into scams through violence or debt bondage.[2]
Status determines access to protection
The two reports do not describe one storyline; their shared threshold is how a person in motion is recognised. About 126,000 Rohingya are registered with UNHCR in Malaysia, but the country is not party to the 1951 Refugee Convention. IOM says people forced to run scams should be treated as trafficking victims needing protection, not criminals for prosecution. Recognition shapes access to protection, although burden-sharing and security concerns could drive Malaysia's debate independently of victim classification.[1], [2]
Related columns
For more information on this topic, you can read the related columns.
