KUALA LUMPUR: The arrest of a 15-year-old Rohingya refugee here has sparked displeasure among non-governmental associations (NGOs) in Malaysia. The boy was apprehended and brought to the Sepang magistrate’s court on Jan 25 and was charged under section 6(1)(c) of the Immigration Act 1959/63 for not possessing a valid United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) identification card. Persatuan Pengguna Islam Malaysia (PPIM) president Datuk Nadzim Johan questioned why a child was taken to a magistrate’s court and not to a juvenile court. On behalf of other NGOs, Nadzim urged that charges against the boy be dropped and that he is released and given assistance by related agencies, and provided with a valid UNHCR identification card. “Malaysia… must help asylum seekers (like him) and make them useful to the country by providing them education and jobs,” he added.

Source: New Strait Times February 24, 2017 07:07 UTC