South-East Asia Funding Update
Malaysia
Operation: Malaysia
Location
{"longitude":102,"latitude":4,"zoom_level":0,"iso_codes":"'MYS'"}
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Key Figures
| 2020 planning figures | |
| 98% | of asylum-seekers will be registered on individual basis |
| 80% | of SGBV survivors will receive case management and appropriate support through a referral pathway |
| 60,000 | refugees and asylum-seekers will receive work permits |
| 14,000 | children aged 3 to 17 years old will be enrolled in education |
| 7,500 | refugee status determination decisions will be issued |
| 3,000 | refugees and asylum-seekers will be released from immigration detention |
| 2018 year-end results | |
| 46,910 | UNHCR identity cards were issued |
| 23,760 | new registrations were carried out |
| 21,600 | refugee status determination decisions issued |
| 2,410 | refugees departed for resettlement |
| 145 | refugees voluntarily repatriated |
People of Concern
4%
Decrease in
2019
2019
| 2019 | 243,784 |
| 2018 | 252,742 |
| 2017 | 241,438 |
[["Refugees",127940],["Refugee-like situation",1155],["Asylum-seekers",50649],["Stateless",9040],["Others of concern",55000]]
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Malaysia
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2019
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{"categories":[2015,2016,2017,2018,2019,2020],"p1":[17.462795085,18.71080951,18.00827372,15.84174178,17.08860191,21.25873967],"p2":[1.23781452,0.97304918,0.51731405,0.75165539,0.86059363,0.87310001],"p3":[null,null,null,null,null,null],"p4":[null,null,null,null,null,null]}
{"categories":[2015,2016,2017,2018,2019,2020],"p1":[8.40919325,7.57517327,7.72566217,8.17526165,8.53618025,null],"p2":[0.81317301,0.67687612,0.34213481,0.13402121,0.1495353,null],"p3":[null,null,null,null,null,null],"p4":[null,null,null,null,null,null]}
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CHOOSE A YEAR
- 2014
- 2015
- 2016
- 2017
- 2018
- 2019
- 2020
More than 161,000 refugees and asylum-seekers are registered with UNHCR in Malaysia and, in addition, some 10,000 stateless persons reside in West Malaysia.
UNHCR conducts all activities related to registration, documentation, status determination and solutions of and for refugees and asylum-seekers in Malaysia, with an increasing focus on community-based protection.
Most refugees are integrated into the urban community as part of a larger migrant economy of an estimated 3 million people. Despite de facto socio-economic opportunities for refugees, the absence of domestic legal status puts them at risk of arrest and detention and subject to exploitation and abuse in the workplace, with poor health and education outcomes as a result of poverty.
The new Pakatan Harapan Government has provided renewed optimism for policy and law reform. In particular in its March 2018 ‘Manifesto’, the Government committed to signing the 1951 Refugee Convention and legitimise the status of refugees registered by UNHCR by ensuring their legal right to work at par with locals. Discussions are also ongoing with the Government on adopting a status agreement for UNHCR.
In 2019, UNHCR will focus on:
UNHCR conducts all activities related to registration, documentation, status determination and solutions of and for refugees and asylum-seekers in Malaysia, with an increasing focus on community-based protection.
Most refugees are integrated into the urban community as part of a larger migrant economy of an estimated 3 million people. Despite de facto socio-economic opportunities for refugees, the absence of domestic legal status puts them at risk of arrest and detention and subject to exploitation and abuse in the workplace, with poor health and education outcomes as a result of poverty.
The new Pakatan Harapan Government has provided renewed optimism for policy and law reform. In particular in its March 2018 ‘Manifesto’, the Government committed to signing the 1951 Refugee Convention and legitimise the status of refugees registered by UNHCR by ensuring their legal right to work at par with locals. Discussions are also ongoing with the Government on adopting a status agreement for UNHCR.
Key priorities
In 2019, UNHCR will focus on:
- Assisting refugee communities to become more resilient and self-reliant to shape solutions for themselves in alignment with the 2017-21 Strategic Plan;
- Building resilience through the mainstreaming of community-based protection into all protection and assistance interventions, as well as training staff and partners on community-based protection approaches and models;
- Engaging service providers to deliver cash-based interventions in alignment with UNHCR’s global policy;
- Prioritizing the identification of children at risk and survivors of sexual and gender-based violence to enable access to lifesaving and recovery services, as well as strengthening inter-agency cooperation including refugee community organizations to ensure mainstreaming of child protection and SGBV prevention, mitigation and response;
- Strengthening relationships with stakeholders to widen access to education, particularly the Ministry of Education to complete registration and licensing of learning centres and promote inclusion of refugee children in the national education system;
- Prioritizing identification and support to individuals and groups with the highest protection needs and vulnerabilities including registration in detention, unaccompanied and separated children, SGBV survivors, LGBTI and trafficking victims;
- Increasing registration coverage and issuing timely refugee status determination decisions;
- Expanding medical insurance to cover all UNHCR persons of concern;
- Implementing a comprehensive solutions strategy in line with the regional strategy combining voluntary return, local solutions, including temporary stay arrangements through legal migration options and promoting legal work rights and resettlement;
- Maintaining technical support in resolving the situation of stateless persons and continued advocacy and cooperation with the Government to streamline policies and practices.
