IPOH, Sept 6 — The Raja Permaisuri of Perak, Tuanku Zara Salim said children of refugees should be given fair and equal treatment in educational opportunities and health treatment like other children.

She said children of refugees should not be made victims and shoulder the sufferings caused by acts which are not their doing.

"The world is witnessing a crisis of refugees with millions of people forced to move and seek shelter in safer places, camps at the country’s border or attempt to enter the border of a neighbouring country.      

"Now, there are 150,000 refugees from Myanmar, Palestine, Syria, Yemen, Iran, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Afghanistan in this country in which 25,000 or 17 per cent were under the age of 18 and only 30 per cent from this group were able to obtain education at community learning centres,” she said.     

Tuanku Zara was speaking at the opening of the four-day 40th Malaysian Paediatric Association Congress at the Ipoh Convention Centre here today. — Bernama