Australian High Commission
Colombo
MEDIA RELEASE
________________________________________
26 July 2011
From today Australia will send asylum seekers to Malaysia under new agreement
From today, asylum seekers who arrive in Australia irregularly by sea will be transferred to Malaysia under a landmark bilateral arrangement to tackle people smuggling and reduce irregular movement.
Australia’s Minister for Immigration and Citizenship, Chris Bowen MP, and Malaysia’s Minister of Home Affairs, Dato' Seri Hishammuddin bin Tun Hussein, signed the arrangement documents at a formal ceremony in Kuala Lumpur on 25 July 2011.
The arrangement with Malaysia is designed to stop the exploitative business of people smuggling, which profits from putting the lives of vulnerable people at risk.
The key message the arrangement delivers to people smugglers and those seeking to make the dangerous sea voyage to Australia is: do not get on that boat.
Any Sri Lankan thinking of using a people smuggler to take them to Australia should be aware they will end up in Malaysia, having risked their lives and lost their money. And once in Malaysia, they will have to wait alongside more than 90,000 other asylum seekers for their claims to be assessed.
As part of the agreement, and in keeping with its humanitarian approach, Australia will resettle an additional number of refugees from those already in Malaysia. Only those who entered Malaysia and registered with UNHCR before 25 July 2011 and have remained in Malaysia will be eligible for possible resettlement in Australia under the agreement.
The Australian Government believes that the only way to respond to what is a regional problem is to develop regional solutions. Australia is working with Sri Lanka and other countries in the region to put a stop to the dangerous trade in people smuggling.