Home minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said refugees were currently registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), but the process of data sharing was taking a long time.

“The National Security Council (MKN) has asked the home ministry to lead the process of registering refugees,” he said on the sidelines of an event in Bukit Kiara here.

Saifuddin said the ministry was in the process of appointing the vendor to conduct the registration of refugees, adding that it would be done using the ministry’s existing infrastructure.

He said this would include the immigration department’s infrastructure, adding that it had more than 70 offices across the country.

10 new entry points along Kalimantan

The minister also said Putrajaya had allocated RM10 billion to develop various infrastructure and facilities for the setting up of 10 new entry points along East Malaysia’s border with Kalimantan, Indonesia.

This will go towards the development of police and army control posts, basic infrastructure like roads, as well as customs, immigration, quarantine and security complexes.

He said the current priority was to develop the entry point at Serudong in Tawau, Sabah, as there were several unresolved issues with the Indonesian authorities.

The Malaysia-Indonesia land border on the island of Borneo spans 1,881km.