KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 — The government is developing a national refugee registration system to improve data credibility and complement the process now under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution said today.

Saifuddin asserted that the new system, to be known as the Refugee and Asylum Seeker Database (DPP), was necessary because the UNHCR was allegedly slow to share information with host countries, making it difficult to manage the influx of refugees.

The initiative was mandated by the National Security Council, which directed the Home Ministry to lead the establishment of the database to address these challenges, he said.

"The core issue is a lack of credible data. Right now, UNHCR handles registration, but sharing that data with our agencies takes too long,” Saifuddin told reporters.

He explained that the DPP system is being developed internally, with technical vendors currently being trained.

It will rely on biometric registration rather than manual documentation and will be deployed through KDN’s existing infrastructure, particularly the 77-plus Immigration Department offices nationwide.

"When we launch the registration, refugees can walk in to any of these Immigration offices to be processed. This is not theoretical, as we’ve already conducted pilot projects and have registered nearly 37,000 individuals,” he said, referring to a programme involving refugees currently held in Immigration detention centres.

Those individuals were biometrically enrolled into the DPP system, forming the base of a more structured and secure registry.

Saifuddin noted that the need for a national system is also driven by external factors. He cited stricter immigration policies in traditional resettlement countries like the United States and Australia, as well as the circulation of fake UNHCR cards, which complicates management and repatriation efforts.

"The percentage of refugees accepted by third countries has dropped drastically. So we need a new, comprehensive plan,” he said.

Saifuddin said that by rolling out the DPP, Malaysia aims to reclaim agency over refugee management and prepare for long-term shifts in the regional migration landscape.

"We have to balance everything — be it public safety, financial sustainability, and basic human rights — but it all starts with one thing: proper, credible data,” Saifuddin said.