Former international trade and industry minister Rafidah Aziz believes Malaysia is not in a position to take in Syrian refugees.

This is despite the government pledging to open its doors to 3,000 Syrian refugees.

Rafidah said Malaysia experienced the Vietnamese boat people crisis in the 1970s, and has a problem in dealing with illegal immigration.

"We're not in a position, I feel, to take people in from Syria. Do you know how far they are?

"So let the bigger countries do it, the bigger Muslim countries nearer in the Middle East.

"They have more capacity. For us, I think it is a little too many," she told reporters when met in Kuala Lumpur today.

Syria has been embroiled in a civil war since 2011, and it's estimated over 4.1 million people have fled the country.

Most of the the refugees had gone to neighbouring Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, but significant numbers had also made the perilous Mediterranean Sea crossing into Europe.

Last month, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had announced at the UN general assembly that Malaysia would accept 3,000 of these refugees over three years.

The UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) representative in Malaysia Richard Towle had welcomed the initiative, but expressed hope that Malaysia would also do more to assist the 154,000 refugees from various countries already in Malaysia.