Only 42,309 refugees from Burma in Malaysia - Are you kidding? Estimated about 500,000 undocumented peoples of Burma in Malaysia.

There is about 500,000 to 700,000 undocumented migrants from Burma in Malaysia. And many of these are in fact 'refugees' - but alas UNHCR is extremely slow in carrying out its work.

Maybe, the government of Malaysia ( or the UNHCR) must presume that all from Burma are refugees and give then the necessary cards. Later, there can be deeper investigations, and if the investigations reveal that this person is not a refugee, an asylum seeker or a 'person of concern' - then remove hpis/her name.

How many Shans have refugee status? The 2 biggest ethnic groups of Burma (now known as Myanmar) are the Burmans and the Shan - and I wonder why the UNHCR does not give us statistics as to how many Burmans have refugee status...how many Shan have refugee status?

As of end March 2009, there are some 47,600 refugees and asylum-seekers registered with UNHCR in Malaysia.42,309 are from Myanmar, comprising some 15,200 Rohingyas from the Northern Rakhine State of Myanmar, 15,800 Chins, 4,000 Myanmar Muslims and the remaining are other ethnic minorities from Myanmar.

There are some 5,280 refugees and asylum-seekers from other countries, including some 2,450 Sri Lankans, 700 Somalis, 555 Iraqis and 550 Afghans.

66% of refugees and asylum-seekers are men, while 34% are women. There are some 14,200 children below the age of 18. - UNHCR Malaysia Website

Shan People of Burma - I wonder why the UNHCR is not giving the Shan refugee status? A big mystery, which the UNHCR need to give us the reason for its actions. Is UNHCR biased against certain ethnic groups?

Myanmar has about 130 ethnic groups.and there are real differences between them. The main groups are the Burmese, the Shan, the Mon or Talaing, the Karen, the Chin, the Kachin, the Salon and other.Of Myanmar people the Burmese are the largest group. Of the Myanmar ethnic groups the smallest and most backward are the Salon People, who inhabit the islands off the southern coast, mainly in the Mergui or Myeik archipelago, further south in Thailand they are called Moken.