About 1,000 Burmese nationals involved in the detainee swap with Burma does not asylum seekers, said Home Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.

He said this was verified with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Kuala Lumpur.

"They are not asylum seekers. I spoke with the UNHCR and made it clear that we're not going to stop those really eligible for refugee status.

"But this cannot be used as an excuse to dump so many people who are not eligible in our country. It will create a bigger problem in future," he was reported saying by Bernama .

Talks with Burmese Deputy Foreign Minister U Maung Myint began yesterday and details will be revealed in the coming weeks.

There are concerns that the deal will involve the repatriation of bona fide asylum seekers who might have persecution upon their return to Burma.

Burma has been consistently condemned by the international community for committing human rights violations against dissidents as well as ethnic and religious minorities.

However, Malaysia is under no legal obligation towards asylum seekers because it is not a signatory to the 1951 United Nations Convention relating to the Status of Refugees.