Aussie minister say M'sia sincere about asylum deal

Foreign Minister Senator Bob Carr said the government's Malaysian people-swap deal could still work if the southeast Asian nation decides not to sign the United Nations (UN) Refugee Convention.

The Australian Government wants to resurrect the Malaysian deal, but the opposition party wants to limit offshore processing to countries that were signatories of the UN Refugee Convention, such as Nauru.

Carr, who was in Malaysia this week, discussed the deal with Malaysian officials, reports the Australian Associated Press.

He confirmed Australia was still committed to resettling 4,000 refugees from Malaysia over four years under the arrangement.

The minister said it was "very silly" for the Liberal-National Party opposition to reject the plan because of the refugee convention. "(Opposition leader) Tony Abbott was suggesting engagement with other countries in Asia that hadn't signed the refugee convention," he told ABC television on Tuesday.

"As Malaysia sees it, they have two million illegal workers, they have 100,000 refugees, they're dealing with this and they can deal with it without signing the convention."

Carr would not be drawn on whether the Australian Government preferred Malaysia to sign the convention, saying it was a matter for Malaysia to decide upon.

"The Malaysians can do without some of the bad mouthing of their eminently good reputation that occurred when the matter was last debated (in Australia)," he said.