Opposition MP urges Malaysia to use military in nationwide migrant crackdown

In a parliamentary session on the Budget 2027 Bill, PN MP Radzi Jidin advocated a massive, nationwide campaign to arrest undocumented migrants and send them back to their home countries, recommending that the military be mobilised to support the Immigration Department. He argued that a whole-of-government approach, like the one used during the Covid-19 pandemic, is needed to clear detention facilities and demonstrate resolve to the international community and traffickers.

Radzi also called for a tougher stance toward UNHCR, asking the agency to stop registering new refugees, noting that Malaysia hosts about 225,000 registered refugees with few resettlements. He accused some civil servants of aiding trafficking and warned that failure to tighten migrant-worker policies could "destroy" the nation. Deputy Foreign Minister Lukanisman Awang Sauni recently directed UNHCR to pause registrations pending a new Refugee Registration Document system.