Syrian immigrants to undergo strict vetting process - Nur Jazlan

Before they could enter this country, Syrian immigrants will have to undergo a strict vetting process, said Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed.

He said security measures include thorough screenings and background checks on the Syrians who seek to migrate here to flee their strife-torn country.

"This programme will take three years and we are looking for ways to bring them in without creating any security risks or huge burden to the country.

"Those who already have families here can help provide them a temporary home and care for their well-being. After that, we will look for suitable places for them to live," he said when contacted by Astro AWANI today.

Nur Jazlan said the government will also come up with the best model to cater to the 3,000 refugees who will be entering Malaysia over the next three years.

He added, priority will be given to Syrians who have families in Malaysia as they will be able to provide assistance in terms of accommodation and support.

However, in the long run, Malaysia will find a way to accommodate the immigrants by providing them proper housing under the relevant government agencies.

When asked about job opportunities for the immigrants, Nur Jazlan said, as long as they have legal documents, it is not an issue.

"However, there are few conditions, if they have legal travel documents such as passports, we can provide them with a temporary visitor or working pass…no problem. But there will be a problem if they don't have a legal document. That's a problem that we need to address," he added.

On the next batch of Syrians to arrive in Malaysia, Nur Jazlan said there was no rush to bring them in as the programme would run over the course of three years.

"The arrival of the first batch yesterday will be our 'pilot project' to gauge the feasibility of the model applied to accept Syrian immigrants to this country. If we first succeed with this small number of immigrants, it will ease the process for receiving bigger groups in the future," he said.

The first batch of eight Syrians from two families arrived at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) at 4.50pm on a Turkish Airlines flight.

They have families who have been working here since 2012.

Last October, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had announced at the 70th session of the United Nations Assembly that Malaysia would open its doors to 3,000 Syrian immigrants over the next three years to help alleviate the refugee crisis.