The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) will look into the allegations of corruption, fraud and bribery with regards to the registration of Rohingya asylum seekers at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) immigration depot.

Contacted today, Suhakam commissioner N Siva Subramaniam said a team will visit the depot tomorrow to gather more details.

This follows a complaint filed with the commission by Rohingya Information Centre (RIC) deputy chief Abdul Ghani Abdul Rahman yesterday.

"We have sent them (the immigration depot) a letter, and hope to get some more input (from the visit)," Siva said.

"If it can be established that the complaints are factual, then, of course, the matter is serious. We'll see how things go tomorrow," he added.

Long wait

When the registration process began on Aug 1, it was welcomed by the Rohingyas who had long waited to be granted the IMM 13 forms which would allow them to seek lawful employment and school their children.

Former home affairs minister Azmi Khalid made the promise in April 2005. On July 25, 2006, a committee comprising ministry officials and Rohingya volunteers was formed to interview Rohingyas and grant them the IMM 13 documents.

In the first week of the exercise, the KLIA immigration depot registered about 1,600 Rohingyas who had fled the military-ruled Burma.

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

This was done at the expense of Rohingyas who had allegedly waited outside the depot for days, some with their children in tow and coming from as far as Johor.

Home Ministry and immigration officials claimed that Abdul Ghani, who was formerly with the volunteer committee interviewing those seeking to register, was among the 'agents' who brought in the non-Rohingyas into the interview process.

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

Abdul Ghani, who denied these allegations, lodged two police reports over the alleged corruption and fraud.

Home Minister Radzi Sheikh Ahmad could not be reached for comments.