The Immigration Department today suspended the registration of Rohingya asylum seekers amid allegations of corruption, fraud and bribery.

News of the suspension came just hours after the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) announced that it will probe the allegations.

The commission had also revealed that it will send a team to the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) immigration depot to gather more information.

Suhakam commissioner N Siva Subramaniam said the watchdog was informed through official channels that the registration exercise, which began on Aug 1, had been stopped.

However, the reasons for the suspension were unclear.

The approximately 12,000 Rohingyas - who fled to Malaysia fearing persecution from Burma's military regime - had welcomed the registration process.

The process would allow them to obtain the long-awaited IMM 13 documents, which would enable them to seek lawful employment and school their children.

In anticipation of a brighter future, they began to pour in from all over the country and gathered for days outside the depot's gates, some with their children in tow.

However, their expectations began to dim due to the alleged irregularities in the registration exercise.

On Tuesday, malaysiakini reported that non-Rohingyas and even non-Burmese undocumented migrants were allegedly going through the interviews and being granted the coveted documents.

The displaced group's representatives have pointed the finger at the authorities while the latter has blamed the community's leaders of selling out the interests of their own people.

Two police reports have also been lodged since while a complaint was filed with Suhakam yesterday.

Suhakam will not sit back

Despite the suspension, Siva has vowed to get to the bottom of the matter.

"I don't care whether the process has been suspended or not. We want to see the situation for ourselves and get clarification," he said when contacted.

"The fact that they've suspended the exercise suggests that something is wrong," added the commissioner.

Siva also said Suhakam was 'keen' to meet Home Ministry secretary-general Aseh Che Mat over the matter.

"The suspension does not mean that we're going to sit back amidst the complaints," he added

Rohingya Information Center deputy-chief Abdul Ghani Abdul Rahman, who was formerly with the volunteer committee interviewing those seeking to register, had filed the complaint with Suhakam.

The authorities, however, claimed that Abdul Ghani was among the 'agents' who brought in non-Rohingyas into the interview process.

This was the reason he had been stopped from participating in the interview process since Aug 7, they had alleged.