Malaysia's Home Minister, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, says the imminent asylum seeker swap deal with Australia is already having an impact, with fewer people entering his country seeking refugee protection.
Mr Hussein also rejected criticism of the deal from United Nations Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay, saying people should reserve judgment on the plan until after it is put into action.
In comments that will be greeted with relief by the Australian government, Mr Hussein said news of the imminent deal had already resulted in a reduction in the number of asylum seekers entering Malaysia.
"It is already having an impact where there is a reduction in the flow of people," he said.
"People in crisis-ridden Middle East countries like Libya are now moving out to Europe. They have to face the same consequences and they will be trying to find solutions."
Under the swap deal announced on May 7, up to 800 new boat arrivals to Australia will be relocated to Malaysia for processing, with Prime Minister Julia Gillard saying they will also go to the back of the queue.
In return, Australia will accept 4000 people from Malaysia who have already been granted refugee status.
The deal has come under fire from Ms Pillay, who said Australia must ensure there was no risk Malaysia would breach the principles of the Refugee Convention and Convention against Torture - neither of which it had ratified.
"It's not the agreement itself that is a violation of international law," she said.
"But if checks and balances are not made there's a huge risk of violations."
However, Mr Hussein said people should wait until the arrangement was in place before making judgments, adding that the objectives of the plan were "noble".
"This arrangement is another out of the box and innovative approach which is still being discussed and yet to be finalised.
So, those who are objecting to this... how can they object to something that we have yet to finalise?" he said.
"It may have caught many people by surprise but you would find it very difficult to find fault with it as yet, because it is not being rolled out and the objectives are very noble."
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