Chapter 1 – Report of the Policy, Law and Complaints Group particularly those who work at the places of detention and in the enforcement division. The course should be made available not only to the new recruits but also to the officials who are already on active duty. It is important for the Immigration officials to understand the difference between refugees and undocumented migrants from the humanitarian perspective. The officials must also be reminded from time to time to observe the applicable laws and rules in handling the detainees. In July, the Commission was approached by a Rohingya refugee family who pleaded that they would soon be homeless as they had not been able to pay the rent on their house for several months, due to the fact that the family’s sole breadwinner had lost his job and was unable to get a new one because of his refugee status. The landlord had requested for them to vacate the house if the rent could not be settled immediately. They had appealed for financial assistance from UNHCR and were waiting for a response. In addition to highlighting their predicament to UNHCR, the Commission suggested for them to approach the Federal Islamic Religious Council and apply for financial assistance from the Council’s tithe collection as they were Muslims. Later the Commission was informed that the Council could not consider their application, as one of the conditions of eligibility for receipt of tithe money is that the applicant must be a citizen. On 30 November, the Commission wrote to the Mufti of the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur highlighting the issue with the hope that the requirement could be reviewed from the perspective of humanity and Islamic brotherhood, as there were many Muslim refugees in Malaysia facing hardships in life due to the non-recognition of their status. Although the Government’s stance on the issue of refugees is that their presence in Malaysia is temporary while waiting for resettlement or voluntary return to their country of origin, in reality the rate of resettlement is low compared to the total number of refugees in Malaysia.45 The Commission believes the absence of a holistic policy on refugees and the lack of recognition of their status will not only aggravate the dire situation of refugees but in the long run will also result in a burden to the country. Without access to formal education and proper employment, the refugees have to survive by begging or through criminal activities, and are exposed to various forms of exploitation. All of these situations will create problems for the country. The Commission is of the view that there should be a human rights approach to the plight of the refugees in this country. While welcoming the Government’s decision following Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s announcement at the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 2 October to accept 3,000 Syrian refugees and provide them with temporary shelter and jobs as well as access to education for their children while 45 According to UNHCR, in 2015 the total number of refugees resettled to third country are 11,890. As of November 2015, there are 155,730 Person of Concern in Malaysia, out of which 94,443 are recognized refugees. There are reportedly several thousand asylum seekers currently in Malaysia. 92 BOOK-ANR2016-01-latest.indb 92 08/04/2016 3:32 PM