SEREMBAN – Malaysia may reconsider the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees' (UNHCR) presence in the country if the agency continues to resist closer cooperation on refugee management, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said.

He said stronger coordination and stricter security screening are needed before refugee cards are issued, arguing that weaknesses in the current process have made Malaysia an attractive destination for asylum seekers.

"If they are unwilling to cooperate, then it is time for us to reconsider UNHCR's presence in the country. That is my view, so that we are not continually burdened," Mohamad said after inspecting early voting for the Negeri Sembilan election at the Sendayan Air Base on July 28, as reported by NST.

According to Mohamad, one of the main concerns is that asylum seekers can submit applications online while still in Myanmar and collect their refugee cards after arriving in Malaysia, without sufficient security screening.

He said Malaysia needs a clearer framework governing UNHCR's role in the country.

"We must have an international agreement specifying what they can and cannot do. At the moment, there appears to be nothing. They do not have a standard operating procedure," he said, adding that the Home Ministry is tightening oversight to ensure applicants undergo thorough screening before approval.

However, refugee advocates cautioned that removing UNHCR would not address the underlying challenges, noting that the agency currently fills a gap left by the absence of a national refugee management system.

Former UNHCR head of education and Muslim Aid Malaysia chief executive officer Wan Mimi Zarina Wan Azmin said the agency's presence is necessary because Malaysia does not have its own mechanism to register and manage refugees.

"UNHCR is in the country because Malaysia does not have a system to handle and manage refugees. If Malaysia had its own system, UNHCR would not need to be here," she said.

Wan Mimi said closing the UNHCR office would leave the government responsible for managing refugees already in the country and could impose significant financial costs through the establishment of a national registration and documentation system.

"The question is, who will take over the cost and responsibility? At the moment, taxpayers are not involved because it is supported through UN funding," she said.

She also noted that Malaysia has had decades to develop its own refugee management framework since the arrival of Vietnamese refugees in the 1970s and urged policymakers to move beyond viewing the issue solely as a choice between national security and humanitarian protection.

According to UNHCR, Malaysia was hosting about 215,600 refugees and asylum seekers as of February, including 193,824 from Myanmar, of whom 126,144 were Rohingya. The remaining 21,776 refugees and asylum seekers originated from more than 50 countries, including Syria, Afghanistan and Palestine.

UNHCR data also showed that 64,680 refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia are children under the age of 18.