In an exclusive interview with the New Straits Times, the minister in the prime minister’s department alleged the international body had never bothered to consult the government before issuing the documents.

Shahidan claimed he had told UNHCR many times to consult the Immigration Department, but it never did.

“This is Malaysia, you cannot do what you want,” he was quoted as saying by the English daily.

The government, he pointed out, never agreed to the issuance and number of cards that would be given out each year or who were qualified to receive it and neither was Malaysia a member of the 1951 Refugee Convention.

UNHCR, the former Perlis Menteri Besar said, had no locus standi to issue refugee cards without the green light from local authorities.

Illegal immigrants, Shahidan also claimed, have been hiding behind the refugee cards, issued by UNHCR.

“These cards are now being traded in Jalan Chow Kit and other parts of the city and states around the country, with good value too. It has become a syndicate,” he told the NST.

Shahidan went on to reveal the National Security Council has been instructed to investigate the issuance of such cards, while the Immigration Department has been called in to monitor UNHCR’s activities.