KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia believes the asylum-seekers swap agreement with Australia is still the best way to tackle human traffickers, despite an Australian High Court decision on Wednesday, which ruled against the deal.
In a statement here, the Home Ministry said the government was determined to tackle the human trafficking menace, adding it would work closely with the Australian Government to determine the best course of action.
“We continue to believe that the agreement between our governments is the best way to tackle the menace of people traffickers in a way that protects the interests of Australia, Malaysia and, above all, the immigrants involved.
“Human traffickers exploit desperation and have no respect for the rights of the individuals they target. We are determined to tackle this trade in human misery,” it said.
Chief Justice Robert French said the court ordered Immigration Minister Chris Bowen and his department to be restrained from sending asylum-seekers to Malaysia.
The declaration was made without power and was invalid, he said.
On July 25, Malaysia and Australia signed a deal in Kuala Lumpur to swap 800 asylum seekers from Australia with 4,000 in Malaysia. — Bernama