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FM AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR
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INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RHHMUNA/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 KUALA LUMPUR 001660 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/28/2016 
TAGS: PHUM PREL PGOV SMIG PREF KISL MY
SUBJECT: A/S SAUERBREY URGES MALAYSIA TO EDUCATE REFUGEE 
CHILDREN AND SUPPORT UNHCR 
 
REF: 05 KUALA LUMPUR 3691 
 
Classified By: CDA David B. Shear for reasons 1.4 b,d. 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: Assistant Secretary for Population, Refugees 
and Migration Ellen Sauerbrey used her August 24-26 mission 
to Malaysia to stress our support for the UNHCR's activities, 
commend the GOM for providing temporary residency to Acehnese 
and Rohingya refugees from Burma, and urge the GOM to provide 
greater education opportunities for the children of refugees. 
 She also expressed optimism that the USG will soon reach 
consensus to solve the "material support" issue that has 
halted our intended resettlement of thousands of Burmese Chin 
refugees into the United States.  A/S Sauerbrey's expression 
of strong USG support for the UNHCR was timely, as the UNHCR 
has recently come under criticism from police and immigration 
officials.  At her other stops in Kuala Lumpur, she discussed 
refugee-related issues with the Indonesian ambassador to 
Malaysia, and visited a primary school and convalescent home 
for refugees that are partially USG-funded.  End Summary. 
 
A Home for the Rohingya? 
------------------------ 
 
¶2. (C) During her August 24 discussions with GOM officials 
from the Internal Security and Foreign Affairs ministries, 
A/S Sauerbrey praised the GOM's recent efforts to distribute 
temporary residency documentation to the approximately 12,000 
Burmese Rohingya refugees who currently reside in Malaysia. 
Mohd Hatta bin Abdul Aziz, Deputy SecGen of the Ministry of 
Internal Security, informed A/S Sauerbrey that the Home 
Affairs Ministry began registering Rohingya refugees on 
August 1 at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA). 
The refugees are to receive Malaysia's coveted "IMM 13" 
documentation that allows its holders access to work, health 
care and education.  Malaysia has not signed or ratified the 
1957 UN convention on refugees, and largely treats refugees 
as illegal migrants.  Hatta explained to A/S Sauerbrey that 
GOM immigration enforcement officials have allowed 
individuals from various refugee groups to remain in 
Malaysia, subject only to their possession of UNHCR 
documentation as "persons of concern." 
 
¶3. (C) UNHCR Representative Volker Turk informed A/S 
Sauerbrey that commencement of the Rohingyas' IMM 13 
registration process was marred by widespread reports of 
corruption among middlemen who allegedly extorted money from 
Rohingya refugees, in return for access to registration 
officials.  The GOM suspended its registration process two 
weeks after it began, and the Home Affairs ministry has 
confidentially allowed the UNHCR to help restructure and 
 
SIPDIS 
subsequently monitor the IMM 13 registration effort.  Turk 
told A/S Sauerbrey that the IMM 13 registration process will 
likely resume by late September. 
 
Refugee Acceptance, Malaysian Style 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) The GOM's move to register Rohingya refugees follows a 
similar effort to provide IMM 13 documentation to Acehnese 
refugees; they constitute Malaysia's largest refugee group. 
Turk informed A/S Sauerbrey that during 2005 and thus far in 
2006, over 20,000 Acehnese refugees have been granted IMM 
13s.  He told us that the GOM may intend to use the IMM 13 
documents as a "potential path toward permanent residency" 
for Acehnese and Rohingya refugees, as both groups are 
predominantly Muslim.  In addition, he said, "They may help 
ease the shortage of unskilled workers here."  Indonesia's 
Ambassador to Malaysia, Rusdihardjo, told A/S Sauerbrey that 
most of the Acehnese refugees in Malaysia "want to stay here 
permanently, because there are more jobs and economic 
opportunities here."  He also noted that the culture of 
Malaysia was similar to that of Aceh province, thereby easing 
their integration into Malaysian 
society. 
 
¶5. (C) Turk told A/Sauerbrey that Malaysia's other major 
refugee group, the approximately 13,000 - 15,000 Burmese 
Chins (8,000 of whom are registered with the UNHCR as 
refugees), will likely never receive IMM 13s.  According to 
Turk, they are predominantly Christian and have been 
tolerated thus far by the GOM "largely because Western 
nations have agreed to resettle them." 
 
¶6. (C) A/S Sauerbrey expressed her concern to Hatta regarding 
the GOM demand for reimbursement from IMM 13 holders for all 
education expenses of their children.  This has precluded 
virtually all refugee children from attending school here, as 
their parents are unable to afford the GOM-required payments. 
 In response to A/S Sauerbrey's questions regarding the lack 
of education opportunities given to refugee children by the 
 
KUALA LUMP 00001660  002 OF 003 
 
 
GOM, Mohd Hatta stated, "Their (the refugees) status here is 
temporary.  Our schools are already overburdened and if we 
put them into our local schools, we'll make things worse." 
He said the GOM currently provided only "religion classes" 
gratis to Muslim refugees' children.  A/S Sauerbrey expressed 
her hope that the GOM would do everything in its power to 
ensure adequate education opportunities for all refugee 
children living in Malaysia, even if they may only reside 
here temporarily. 
 
Material Support 
---------------- 
 
¶7. (C) In response to questions posed to A/S Sauerbrey about 
possible resettlement of Burmese Chin refugees from Malaysia 
to the United States, she explained that the USG first 
required a waiver of the "material support" provisions 
established under U.S. law.  These provisions were designed 
to prevent immigration into the U.S. by persons deemed to 
have provided "material support" to terrorist organizations. 
A/S Sauerbrey commented that the USG is committed to 
resolving the material support issue with regard to the 
Chins, some of whom provided varying degrees of support to 
rebel groups within Burma before coming to Malaysia.  She 
told GOM officials, the United States hopes to take several 
thousand Chin refugees per year from Malaysia, and expressed 
optimism the Chin's material support problem could be 
resolved in the next few months. 
 
¶8. (C) Both Hatta and Ahmad Izlan Idris, Undersecretary of 
Multilateral Affairs in the MFA, agreed 
with A/S Sauerbrey's statement that "Burma must be pressured 
to improve the living conditions of its people."  Hatta said, 
"I've been there and seen horrible conditions."  Idris 
commented, "We need to look at the core factors driving 
foreigners from their homes to come to Malaysia." 
 
The UNHCR Becomes a Lightning Rod 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶9. (C) The UNHCR has recently come under pressure by the GOM. 
 Turk told A/S Sauerbrey that he was "summoned" on August 2 
to the MFA at the behest of Deputy Prime Minister Najib.  He 
was told that senior police and immigration officials here 
view the UNHCR as a "major irritant."  They question the 
UNHCR's continued protection of individuals deemed to be 
illegal migrants under Malaysian law.  Turk told A/S 
Sauerbrey that the GOM fears the UNHCR is "creating a pull 
factor" by offering protection to such individuals. 
Therefore, in addition to the other topics she raised in her 
meetings with the internal security and foreign ministries, 
A/S Sauerbrey clearly and explicitly expressed our strong 
support for the activities of the UNHCR - both in Malaysia 
and worldwide.  She explained that the USG funds 25% of the 
UNHCR's annual operating budget, and that we support the 
UNHCR's unique capabilities and crucial roles that include: 
protection of refugees temporarily residing in many 
countries; facilitating permanent resettlement of refugees 
into welcoming third countries; and aiding governments' 
understanding of the underlying causes that drive flows of 
distressed populations across borders. 
 
¶10. (C) COMMENT: A/S Sauerbrey's visit to Malaysia enabled us 
to clearly explain the status of the material support issue 
that has impeded our resettlement of Burmese Chin refugees, 
as well as convey our strong desire for the GOM to both 
support the UNHCR's activities in Malaysia and provide public 
education free of charge for refugee children.  Now that the 
GOM has offered the first step toward integration of the 
Muslim groups that comprise the bulk of its refugees, 
Malaysia has apparently become less willing to accommodate 
other, non-Muslim groups such as the Chins.  It is therefore 
probably no coincidence that the UNHCR Representative was 
summoned to the MFA the day after the GOM began registering 
its last large group of Muslim refugees (i.e. the Rohingya). 
While the relationship between the GOM and UNHCR has become 
chilled in recent weeks, we believe the GOM is unlikely to 
significantly change its policies regarding the UNHCR in the 
near term.  The GOM would face unwanted international 
opprobrium, for example, if it ceased to accept UNHCR 
documentation for Christian Chin refugees, while 
simultaneously granting temporary residence permits to Muslim 
Acehnese and Rohingya refugees.  In addition, cooperation 
with the UNHCR here allows the GOM to occupy a comfortable 
middle ground between ratifying the UN convention on refugees 
and simply punishing and deporting all refugees regardless of 
UNHCR status.  The UNHCR has also proven itself useful to the 
GOM on issues such as the 131 Thai refugees who crossed into 
Malaysia during August 2005 (reftel), as well as its latest 
role in restructuring and monitoring the IMM 13 registration 
process for the Rohingya. 
 
KUALA LUMP 00001660  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶11. (U) A/S Sauerbrey has cleared this cable. 
SHEAR