Asylum seekers and refugees here are in a state of panic following the government's decision not to recognise the protection letters issued to them by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

"We are very, very worried and scared. We are so scared that we would be arrested and deported. Everybody is in trauma now," said Mohd Noor, an Acehnese leader living in Selayang, Selangor.

He implored the Malaysian government to reconsider its decision, as the situation in the strife-torn Indonesian province has deteriorated further following the Dec 26 tsunami disaster.

"The condition in Aceh is very bad. (Even) afer the tsunami, the military and rebels are firing at each other, every day lives are lost," he said.

Fearing for his safety, Mohd Noor, who used to do odd jobs at a restaurant, is now forced to stay at home.

"All of us just stay at home now. My phone is ringing all the time as everybody wants to know what's going on," he said when contacted today.

Yesterday, Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said that no illegal immigrants will be spared from the ongoing crackdown, including those with letters from the UN agency.

His statement contradicted that of Home Minister Azmi Khalid, who on Wednesday, claimed that those with protection letters will be excluded.

Illegal migrants arrested are liable to face a jail term, whipping and even barred from re-entering Malaysia.

'Please help us'

Meanwhile, Zafar Ahmead, the president of the Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organisation Malaysia, also said there is widespread concern among his community.

"All of us cried after hearing the news. We are so scared. We are in a very difficult situation now," he said when contacted.

"We plead with the Malaysian government to help us. We have no where to go anymore," he added.

The ethnic Rohingyas fear persecution at the hands of the Burmese military leaders should they be deported home.

Commenting on the issue, K Shan, the coordinator of Solidarity for Aceh said the Acehnese here informed him that they would rather fight till the end instead of being deported.

"The government should be more sensitive to what is happening in Aceh. They have lacked initiative and consistency in dealing with refugees," he added.

UNHCR optimistic

Taking a more optimistic stand, the UNHCR said it still has hope that the government will continue to demonstrate its strong humanitarian commitment when it comes to cooperating with the agency and on refugee protection.

In a statement today, UNHCR's head in Kuala Lumpur Volker Turk emphasised that the agency does not issue protection documents indiscriminately.

"We have a stringent process in place which involves registration, verification, interviewing and then determination of the refugee status, to ensure that only people who require international protection by the international community are indeed documented as such by UNHCR," he said.

He also urged law enforcement officials on the ground to contact the agency to verify whether the documents carried by asylum seekers are genuine.

Contacted later, Turk said the number of the documented asylum seekers and refugees "have not changed drastically" as claimed by certain quarters.

However, he refused to divulge the exact figures .

In an interview with malaysiakini last October, he disclosed that the UNHCR office here registered about 6,000 asylum seekers in 2004.

Till last October, 30,000 asylum seekers were registered in Kuala Lumpur with 20,000 of them documented, while another 9,000 applications are still being processed.

Respect UNHCR role

Meanwhile, two human rights groups released a joint statement criticising Najib's remarks on UNHCR.

"We note the discrepancies in the media statements between Azmi Khalid and the deputy prime minister. These divergent viewpoints serve only to create more confusion and unnecessary problems and it is most unjust for refugees and asylum-seekers who are already extremely vulnerable here," said Elizabeth Wong and S Arutchelvan, who represent Hakam and Suaram respectively.

"We urge the various ministries involved in the crackdown to follow the example of the Royal Malaysian Police Force, who gave a written assurance to Amnesty International that they will refer all matters pertaining to refugees directly to the UNHCR, as well as adhere to UN standards and principles."

They said that Malaysia as a member of the UN, must assist the UNHCR and respect its role in alleviating suffering and persecution of persons fleeing from their countries.

"Further, we wish to remind the Malaysian government that under international customary law, it is obligated to observe the principle of non-refoulement of refugees and asylum-seekers.

"Any attempt to arrest, detain or forcibly deport them is a serious breach of this principle and will tarnish the international standing of the country."