Malaysia to take in 3,000 Syrian refugees in the next three years

Hundreds of thousands of Syrian migrants have fled Syria since the beginning of the year amid the war in the Middle-Eastern country.

"Malaysia will do its share, and open our doors to a further 3,000 Syrian migrants over the next three years," Najib said in a speech at the United Nations General Assembly.

"New international solutions are needed to deal with the migration crisis," he said. "The millions fleeing are people - like us. They should concern us all. We must respect our common humanity."

At present there are a little over 153,000 refugees in predominantly Muslim Malaysia, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

The refugees in Malaysia comprise over 143,000 migrants from Myanmar, more than 3,000 Sri Lankans, 1,230 Pakistanis, 1,100 Somalis, 970Syrians, 860 Iraqis, 490 Iranians, 490 Palestinians and the rest from other countries, the UN agency said.