PUTRAJAYA, June 12 — The Home Ministry has requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to hand over the list and information on refugees in the country for Covid-19 vaccination.

Its minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin said at present, there are 178,715 UNHCR cardholders, but there is no further information on where they are located.

"If UNHCR can provide us with detailed information, it will facilitate the government’s effort to achieve herd immunity to contain the spread of Covid-19 in the country,” he told a press conference on standard operating procedure (SOP) compliance under the Movement Control Oder 3.0, here today.

Hamzah said the ministry has identified almost 2.5 million foreigners in the country who held various documents issued by the government or third parties such as UNHCR, including prisoners and Immigration detainees, for Covid-19 vaccination.

He said he will work together with National Covid-19 Immunisation Programme Coordinating Minister, Khairy Jamaluddin, to ensure that the foreigners receive their vaccination.

"I wish to explain that Malaysians must understand that for the country to reach herd immunity, every foreigner in Malaysia must be vaccinated,” he explained.

For foreigners who do not have valid documents and want to return to their country of origin, Hamzah said they could do so through the Return Recalibration Programme, which was introduced last year. — Bernama