Saifuddin said he had sent a letter inviting the international rights group to a meeting.
“But till today, HRW said they are not prepared to meet with me,” he told reporters here today, adding that HRW had responded to his invite via WhatsApp.
“But I will wait until they are prepared as such engagement is crucial.”
Saifuddin said he needed HRW to cooperate with him on the report in the event he had overlooked any of the information in the document.
He said he was still open to a meeting as he wanted to go through the report with a fine-tooth comb.
Last month, HRW released a report which was based on interviews with 43 former detainees.
The 60-page report highlighted so-called appalling living conditions, lack of medical care, and instances of torture and abuse, allegedly resulting in “many” deaths.
The report claimed that women and children were also subjected to abuse and neglect, with more than 1,400 children detained, two-thirds of whom were unaccompanied or separated from their families and often detained with unrelated adults.
Saifuddin questioned the credibility of the report, raising doubts over HRW’s sources, and urging the group to specify where the centres were located.
He also said HRW “could not produce an iota of evidence” on the incidents that allegedly took place at the 20 immigration detention centres mentioned in the report.
HRW dismissed Saifuddin’s claims, saying the report was based on intensive on-the-ground fact-finding and legal analysis, and had been thoroughly reviewed.
Home ministry working with UNHCR
Saifuddin said the ministry was currently in the final phase of reaching an agreement to share data on refugees with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to facilitate the management of refugees in Malaysia more comprehensively.
He said the matter was discussed at a meeting with the representative of the UNHCR, Thomas Albrecht, in Parliament this morning.
He said the discussion also revolved around aspects of capacity development and training for the ministry to take advantage of UNHCR’s experience in managing refugees around the world.
Saifuddin said UNHCR had modules on human rights and it had developed a registration system to manage 187,000 refugees. This system was different from the one used by the ministry.
“A group of our officers is now carrying out a training and capacity-building programme with UNHCR.
“We will provide cooperation that is best suited to the role and existence of UNHCR in our country. This is important to deflect accusations mainly from those who think the home ministry does not cooperate directly with UNHCR,” he said.
Asked whether UNHCR had expressed its intention to visit immigration depots, Saifuddin said the ministry was ready to help facilitate any such application since the body expected “refugee status detainees” and asylum seekers to be among the 13,000 detainees at the 20 immigration depots in the country.
He said UNHCR could submit a list and the home ministry would help identify their whereabouts.