Interior Minister Hamzah Zainudin announced that the federal government approved the use of the Tracking Refugees Information System (TRIS) on July 22, adding that all refugees were required to register with the system to “determine the location of the refugees and their reference to the country.” . . “TRIS can also ensure that they are living in our country for employment purposes or to process other matters that could be improved through the policy approved by the National Security Council,” he said. The UN defines refugees as people who have fled war, violence, conflict or persecution and crossed international borders to find safety in another country. The thousands of refugees in Malaysia have fled from countries such as Myanmar, Syria and Yemen. The minister’s recent announcement has brought renewed attention to a scheme launched in 2017 that has raised concern about its purpose and impact on the lives of already marginalized people. On its website, TRIS is described as a government-initiated mandatory registration system for every UNHCR card holder and asylum seeker residing in Malaysia and every registered refugee and asylum seeker receives a special identity card called (MyRC ) certified by the government. The information system is managed and implemented by a private company called Barisan Mahamega Sdn Bhd, which was given the responsibility of operating the system by the Ministry of Home Affairs. Refugees in Malaysia have no legal protection in the country, but will have to provide their residential address to the government when they register with TRIS [File: Lim Huey Teng/Reuters] Companies Commission records show the company is chaired by Akhil Bulat, a former head of Special Branch, the intelligence arm of the Malaysian police. Akhil, who retired in 2015, is also the company’s largest shareholder.
Safety objectives
The TRIS website states that the aim of the system is to help the government settle issues related to monitoring the status of refugees and asylum seekers residing in Malaysia. “The growing number of refugees in the country is having a bad impact on the government,” the website says. “Register and [to] check them out [refugees] they are so critical to ensure the security of the country, as refugees who create social problems are concentrated in particular.” Housed in a large area not far from downtown Kuala Lumpur, the UN refugee agency is usually the first port of call for new arrivals in Malaysia. Refugees and asylum seekers go through a long process of detailed and extensive interviews that can take months before they are given the UNHCR card, which gives them some protection while they live in Malaysia pending possible resettlement in a third country. country. Munira Mustaffa, a non-resident fellow at the New Lines Institute of Strategy and Policy in Washington, told Al Jazeera that in a highly securitized world, host countries often perceive refugees as a threat to their country’s security. “Refugees do not pose any threat to the security of Malaysia,” he adds. “In all fairness, given their limited access to the legal system for redress and a lower propensity to trust the authorities and/or police to report incidents of harm and seek help, their exposure to such risks is disproportionately greater.” The Chin Refugee Alliance in Malaysia, a community group for the more than 23,000 ethnic Chin who have come to the country from Myanmar, condemned TRIS. James Bawi Thang Bik, a spokesman for the group, told Al Jazeera the system was a “trap” and expressed concern that data collected by TRIS would be shared with the government without the refugees’ consent. “If they see refugees as a threat to society, then I would ask: what about those crimes that are not committed by refugees?” he said. “Refugees work really hard to support their families. They deserve to be seen as a team that contributes to Malaysia and not as a threat.” The interior ministry did not respond to Al Jazeera’s requests for comment on TRIS. Malaysia is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention, and asylum seekers and refugees are considered “illegal immigrants” under the law, unable to work legally, access medical care or send their children to school. Malaysian immigration officers have been raiding undocumented migrants for the past month. As they have no legal status in Malaysia, refugees are considered ‘illegals’ and fear arrest [File: Hasnoor Hussain/Reuters]
Detailed information
The TRIS website says the company’s data is consistent with information already collected by UNHCR. Ahmad*, a Syrian refugee who signed up for the scheme in May 2022, told Al Jazeera he learned about the scheme through his manager at work, who told him and his colleagues that having a MyRC card would offer them protection from the government. According to Ahmad, TRIS offers two registration methods. The first costs 500 Malaysian ringgit ($112) and gives the refugee the MyRC card on the same day, while the other costs 50 Malaysian ringgit and takes about a month. After paying for the cheaper service, Ahmad was due to receive his card in June, but he and some other colleagues have yet to receive their cards. Ahmad recalls being asked many questions during his TRIS registration interview and being asked to provide many details about the process, including his UNHCR card details, his address and his place of work. He also had to provide biometric identification. “I gave all my UNHCR card and passport details and they took all 10 of my fingerprints and asked for details and contacts about my workplace, family members and residence,” he said. The UN refugee agency in Kuala Lumpur told Al Jazeera that while they were aware of the initial plans for the TRIS system, the government had not raised the issue of its implementation with them during meetings in recent years. UNHCR spokesman Yade Ismail told Al Jazeera that the organization had previously provided recommendations on TRIS that it believed would help clarify structural and practical details about the programme. “Our recommendations included the development of an overarching framework that would provide relevant policy, regulatory and operational guidance for its implementation, including the purpose of enrollment, card benefits, stakeholder roles and responsibilities, quality assurance and data protection personal data,” he said. In May this year, the home secretary accused UNHCR of issuing refugee cards “arbitrarily” and claimed immigration officers found the cards with Indonesian nationals during a raid. In response, the UN agency said the cards were “issued to those who meet the accepted international definition of being in need of refugee protection, without discrimination based on race, religion or nationality”.
Promises of protection
According to information provided on the TRIS website, the main advantage of the MyRC card is the easy verification of refugees and asylum seekers. “The government can easily verify their identity using [a] national database. Thus, the risk of arrest and detention is minimized,” the website states. Malaysia, like many Southeast Asian countries, is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention [File: Fazry Ismail/EPA] But UNHCR told Al Jazeera that refugees had told them that MyRC card holders had been arrested. Previously, the agency was allowed to visit immigration detention centers to verify refugees’ identities and secure their release, but has not had access to the sites since 2019. Earlier this year, it emerged that hundreds of mostly Muslim Rohingya refugees were being held in detention when six were struck and killed on a nearby highway after fleeing the center. When signing up for TRIS, Ahmad asked the officer if the card would offer him protection from arrest in the workplace in the event of immigration raids. “I asked her if showing the card would protect me from arrest and she said no.” While the TRIS website claims the company works with the Ministry of Interior to offer refugees temporary work permits, James Bawi Thang Bik from the Alliance of Chin Refugees told Al Jazeera that such promises were simply a way to lure refugees into surrendering their information. However, it had encouraged some to sign up when the program first started five years ago, he added. “They promised that MyRC card holders will be granted the right to work, the right to access education, be free from arrest and detention, be able to apply for a driver’s license and apply for a bank account,” he said. According to James Bawi Thang Bik, many refugees decided not to renew their cards after the first year when promises were not fulfilled, even though some had paid 500 Malaysian ringgit for their cards. “This can be seen as exploiting and exploiting the vulnerability of refugees for their own benefit,” he added. “The refugee service is always free at UNHCR.” TRIS did not respond to Al Jazeera’s requests for comment about its registration system. Ahmad told Al Jazeera that he feels let down and taken advantage of after realizing that his MyRC card will not provide him with any benefits despite providing sensitive registration information. “If they really want to help refugees and take the lead in handling their situation here, they should offer us the opportunity to be part of this society, because we already are,” he said. “Let us work and get educated legally. If they claim it is to protect Malaysia from refugees…
