UNHCR IN MALAYSIA: THE HONEYMOON IS OVER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KUALA LUMPUR 000448

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/05/2017
TAGS: PHUM PREF SMIG PREL PGOV UNHCR MY
SUBJECT: UNHCR IN MALAYSIA: THE HONEYMOON IS OVER

REF: KUALA LUMPUR 268

Classified By: Charge d'Affaires David B. Shear for reasons 1.4 b and d
.

Summary
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1. (C) The UNHCR representative in Malaysia, meeting with the
Ambassador March 2, described difficulties with the Home
Affairs Ministry and raised the prospect the GOM might
restrict the UNHCR's ability to operate in country. The Home
Affairs Ministry recently eliminated the UNHCR's access to
current and potential persons of concern incarcerated in
Malaysia's illegal migrant detention centers. In addition to
GOM criticism, UNHCR also faces complaints of religious
discrimination from Burmese Muslim Rohingya leaders, who are
reacting to the large Burmese Chin resettlement effort on
behalf of the USG; the Chins are predominantly Christian.
The GOM has not fulfilled its part of an informal
understanding among the GOM, the UNHCR and the USG, under
which the GOM would provide temporary residence documentation
to the Rohingyas, while the USG resettles thousands of Chins
into the United States. The Embassy strongly advocated for
the UNHCR with the GOM as GOM/UNHCR friction emerged in
February (reftel). The Embassy will engage the Foreign
Ministry and Home Affairs Ministry to further express support
for the UNHCR, push for GOM provision of temporary residence
documentation for the Rohingyas, explain our Chin
resettlement efforts, and recommend closer GOM cooperation
with the UNHCR's efforts on behalf of refugees here. We also
intend to work closely with the UNHCR and PRM to finalize a
UNHCR refugee assistance proposal that supports education and
health care for the Rohingya community. End Summary.

UNHCR's "Honeymoon Period" Ending
--------------


2. (C) The Ambassador invited UNHCR Representative Volker
Turk and his Deputy, Henrik Nordentoft, for a March 2
discussion on the various challenges facing the UNHCR in
light of recent GOM criticism emanating from the Home Affairs
Minister, Mohd Radzi Sheikh Ahmad (reftel). Turk said,
"There is a real danger the GOM will curtail our operations
in Malaysia, but I don't think they'll go so far as to kick
us out." According to Turk, the Home Affairs Minister
recently initiated two cabinet level discussions about the
UNHCR and refugee issues; Turk described the discussions as
"inconclusive." Turk said, "The honeymoon period the UNHCR
has enjoyed for the past two and a half years is coming to an
end." He briefed UNHCR High Commissioner Guterres on the
situation during the week of February 26 in Geneva.


3. (C) According to Turk, the Home Affairs Ministry's
Immigration Enforcement Director Ishak Mohammad recently told
him that the UNHCR will no longer be allowed to visit
potential "persons of concern" incarcerated in Malaysia's 13
illegal migrant detention facilities. Volker said
restrictions on UNHCR's visits to detention facilities began
to surface during September 2006, with a gradual tightening
that culminated in the recent ban. About 750 UNHCR persons
of concern are currently in illegal migrant detention centers
throughout the country, including the 45 UNHCR persons of
concern detained during a January 28 immigration raid
(reftel).


4. (C) Note: Many persons of concern in detention remain
unaware of the GOM's new visitation restrictions on the
UNHCR. According to the UNHCR, 42 Chin persons of concern
(19 recognized refugees and 23 asylum seekers) in a detention
center staged a hunger strike from January 31 - February 9.
They had repeatedly requested a UNHCR visit, following their
detention on December 16, 2006. After appeals from the UNHCR
on humanitarian grounds, Prisons Department officials allowed
a teleconference between the UNHCR and three of the hunger
strikers. The refugees immediately ended their hunger
strike, but all 42 were transferred to other detention
facilities the next day, as a direct precursor to
deportation. The Immigration Department has not responded to
UNCHR's request to stop their deportation. End Note.


5. (C) Regarding the GOM's recently conveyed decision to
relocate the UNHCR's compound in KL, Turk told the Ambassador
he was "reasonably confident" he could delay such a move
until after the end of the USG's fiscal year in September
2007, in order not to disrupt Chin resettlement efforts. He
said the GOM is not yet putting severe pressure on him to
move immediately, and he will continue attempts to delay or
cancel the proposed relocation. In light of the UNHCR's
potential relocation, the UNHCR has prepared a revised

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security upgrade proposal for USG funding consideration.
Embassy RSO and poloff visited the UNHCR compound on March 7
to review the revised security upgrade plan; we have
forwarded our assessment of the proposed security upgrades to
the Department and to the SE Asia Regional Refugee
Coordinator in Bangkok.

Muslim Rohingya Refugees Increasingly Disgruntled
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6. (C) Pressure continues to build from (predominantly
Muslim) Rohingya refugee leaders - thus far targeted at the
Home Affairs Ministry and at the UNCHR - who perceive
religious discrimination in the resettlement of
(predominantly Christian) Chin refugees to the United States.
According to Turk, Rohingya leaders recently met with Home
Affairs Ministry officials to voice their complaints of
discrimination by the UNHCR. (Note: On March 8,
approximately 60 Rohingya refugees staged a brief, peaceful
demonstration outside the UNHCR compound. They delivered a
strongly worded letter to the UNCHR, with copies sent to
major human rights NGOs in Malaysia, claiming "maltreatment
and racial/religious discrimination of the UNCHR." End
Note.)


7. (C) Turk characterized his Rohingya leader interlocutors
as "very hard to deal with." He described several of them as
"criminals" engaged in corruption against their own people.
He recommended against an active outreach program by the
Embassy to these Rohingya leaders, and he cautioned us about
our future approaches to Rohingya community leaders. He
said, "They publicized our private discussions and
misrepresented our words, while trying to draw even more
Rohingyas to Malaysia."


8. (C) Turk said he will continue to push the GOM to resume
its registration of Rohingya refugees, as a precursor to GOM
provision of IMM13 temporary residence documentation that
enables its holder to work legally in Malaysia. The GOM
suspended its registration effort during August 2006, after
uncovering corrupt practices by Rohingya leaders involved in
the registration process. GOM provision of IMM13 documents
to the Rohingyas was part of an unwritten understanding
reached in the past couple years between the GOM and the
UNHCR, with the concurrence of the United States. Within
that understanding, the GOM was to provide IMM13s to the
Rohingyas, while the U.S. would resettle a large number of
Chins. The GOM made clear its willingness to convert Muslim
Rohingya refugees into legal residents - a prospect not
extended to the Christian Chins.


9. (C) Given the political and religious sensitivities of our
large resettlement efforts focused on Chins, Turk would like
the USG to consider increased resettlements of non-Chins in
coming years from Malaysia.


10. (C) Turk cautioned that GOM resistance to helping the
Rohingyas is not confined to the Home Affairs Ministry. Turk
said several of his MFA interlocutors are negatively disposed
toward eventual permanent residency of the Rohingyas, in part
due to racism among senior MFA officials. He said some MFA
officials characterized the Rohingyas in a derogatory manner
as being "of Indian blood," during a February 2007 meeting.
Turk said a senior MFA official characterized FM Syed Hamid
as an "old school" thinker who is not kindly disposed toward
the UNHCR or to the plight of refugees in Malaysia.
According to Turk, anti-UNHCR officials within the GOM prefer
a "Singapore model" in which the UNHCR has no operating
presence, and refugees have no protection from arrest and
deportation. Balancing these negative sentiments, Turk said,
are the voices of many senior civil servants in all
ministries who recognize the value of the UNHCR's work, and
who understand the international opprobrium that would
descend upon Malaysia, should the GOM significantly restrict
or eliminate the UNHCR's activities here. In order to
bolster support within the GOM, Turk told us he and UN
Development Program Resident Representative Richard Leete
intend to jointly visit Deputy PM Najib by the end of March.

Embassy Offers UNHCR Support and Close Cooperation
-------------- --------------


11. (C) Ambassador LaFleur expressed his disappointment that
the GOM is not fulfilling its part of the bargain by
providing the Rohingyas with IMM13 documentation. The
Ambassador offered the Embassy's continued engagement with
the Home Affairs Ministry and the Foreign Ministry to back
the UNHCR's role and efforts, encourage the GOM to honor its
agreement to help the Rohingyas, and provide information
concerning our ongoing resettlement of Chins. The Ambassador

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stated his willingness to take up these issues directly with
the Home Affairs and Foreign ministers, when appropriate.
Turk very much appreciated the Embassy's support and said he
would consider the timing and implications of a possible
approach by the Ambassador to the two ministers. Embassy
approaches could help the UNHCR and possibly jump start the
GOM's provision of IMM13 documentation to the Rohingyas. The
Ambassador and Turk agreed to remain closely coordinated in
the respective Embassy and UNHCR discussions with the GOM.

Iraqi Refugee Inflow Increases
--------------


12. (C) Turk said an increasing though still small number of
Iraqi refugees are entering Malaysia, including some
transiting through Syria. He gave an example of four Iraqi
families currently detained at Kuala Lumpur's international
airport. Although Iraqis require no visa to enter Malaysia,
immigration officials at the airport interviewed the Iraqis
and classified them as intending immigrants. The GOM wants
the UNHCR to recognize the Iraqi families as persons of
concern, in order to ease their removal from detention and
prevent their deportation. Turk has thus far refused, saying
UNHCR recognition of the Iraqis would only reward the human
smuggling ring that charged each family "$20,000 or more" to
facilitate their entry into Malaysia. (Comment: Separately,
the Iraqi Embassy noted a current trend of Iraqis seeking
refuge in Malaysia. End Comment.)


13. (C) The UNHCR wants to offer its protection to the
Iraqis, but the UNHCR fears quick action to intervene would
initiate a wave of similar Iraqis entering Malaysia and
asking for similar UNHCR support. According to Nordentoft,
the UNHCR is "trying to strike the proper balance between
protecting individuals and the overall management of the
UNHCR's resources." According to our sources, the GOM is
also concerned about the increasing flow of Iraqis into
Malaysia. The Home Affairs Ministry is currently reexamining
its visa-less entry policy for Iraqis (as well as for Tamil
Sri Lankans),with an eye toward near-term establishment of
restrictions.

Comment
--------------


14. (C) As Turk noted, the UNHCR's honeymoon period in
Malaysia has come to an end. In the face of criticism
largely emanating from the Home Affairs Ministry, the UNHCR
continues to be able in large part to carry out its mandate.
However, the prohibition on UNHCR visits to immigration
detention centers is an important exception. Sorting out GOM
rhetoric and action is also important to our understanding.
Local communities' complaints regarding illegal squatters
often result in harsh words from Malaysian officials, as well
as police and immigration crack-downs that fail to
distinguish between refugees and undocumented migrants.
Immigration issues remain among the most sensitive political
issues in Malaysia. In coordination with the UNHCR, in
February the Embassy quickly raised concerns over the Home
Affairs Minister's statements with both the Foreign and Home
Affairs ministries (reftel). We will work closely together
with the UNHCR on our next approaches to the Malaysian
Government.


15. (SBU) Provision this fiscal year of broad-based refugee
assistance funds from the USG to the UNHCR in KL, including
significant education and health care funds for the Rohingya
community, will help refute Rohingya leaders' charges of
religious discrimination by the UNHCR and the USG. We
therefore recommend that the Department expedite its review
and funding of the revised refugee assistance program
proposal, once the proposal is received from the UNHCR.
SHEAR