Issuance of UNHCR card to Rohingya refugees will be reviewed - Hamzah

LARUT: The government will review the issuance of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cards to Rohingya refugees in the country, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin.

He said the study had to be done following the escape of hundreds of Rohingya detainees from the Sungai Bakap Immigration Detention Depot near Bandar Baharu, on Wednesday.

"We cannot provide space for them to easily enter the country without documents and immediately get UNHCR cards. It's something that's not right...that's why we take a firm stance, being a card holder doesn't mean they can live in our country and enter as they like," he said.

He spoke to reporters after handing over donations to 1,000 underprivileged people from Larut parliamentary constituency at Dewan Astaka Batu Kurau here today.

In the 4.30 am incident on Wednesday, 528 Rohingya detainees escaped from the depot following a riot.

During the escape, six detainees, including two children, were killed on the southbound side of the North-South Expressway while trying to cross the highway near Jawi.

-- BERNAMA