MANJUNG, Malaysia (AP) — Malaysia on Tuesday began repatriating Myanmar nationals, including women and children, under a voluntary program despite warnings from the United Nations refugee agency and rights groups that conditions in the country remain unsafe.
The 1,476 people being sent back are among 5,000 Myanmar nationals who will be repatriated in stages from Malaysia, where 10,388 Myanmar nationals were being held at immigration detention depots nationwide as of Aug. 15, according to Malaysia’s Home Ministry.
Buses believed to be carrying Myanmar returnees arrived at a stadium in Manjung town in Malaysia’s central Perak state early Tuesday, amid tight security. Ships believed to be from Myanmar were docked at the nearby Lumut naval base.
Home Ministry official Makhzan Mahyuddin was quoted by national Bernama news agency as saying the returnees comprised 1,370 men, 79 women, 20 boys and seven girls, aged between eight and 60.
The ministry said they would be sent back safely on two Myanmar navy warships and a hospital ship. It is unclear if any of the returnees were minority Muslim Rohingya, who are rejected by the Myanmar government. The ministry didn't provide further details of their identities and circumstances, but stressed their return was voluntary.
“This move also sends a clear signal that the government is serious about addressing irregular migration and the issue of undocumented foreign nationals through law enforcement, repatriation and more systematic management and data collection,” the ministry said in a statement.
Many refugees in Malaysia come from Myanmar's Rohingya minority
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and rights groups slammed the repatriation, saying the security and humanitarian situation in parts of Myanmar remains volatile and returnees could face serious risks such as persecution and forced military conscription in an active war zone.
Myanmar is involved in an armed conflict and political instability following the military’s seizure of power in 2021.
Malaysia is home to about 215,600 refugees and asylum seekers registered with the UNHCR, including about 126,000 Rohingya who make up one of Southeast Asia’s largest refugee communities. Despite hosting them, Malaysia is not a party to the U.N. Refugee Convention and treats refugees as undocumented migrants.
The government recently launched a system to register refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia and to build a biometric database, as it seeks to manage and regulate the population independently from the UNHCR.
Rohingya have faced growing public hostility in Malaysia due to their growing numbers, fueled by concerns over jobs, public services and security.
Malaysia says Myanmar must accept the refugees' return
Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has defended the repatriation policy as a diplomatic effort to find a long-term solution, saying Malaysia cannot host refugees indefinitely and Myanmar must take responsibility for its citizens.
Anwar said he plans to invite Myanmar leader Min Aung Hlaing to Malaysia to discuss the long-running refugee and undocumented migrant issue that has dragged on for decades.
“I am inviting him to say that we can be friends and trade, we can accept Myanmar, but Myanmar must accept them back,” he said in a podcast posted online Sept. 16. “To me, that’s better diplomacy than just shouting angrily at Myanmar.”
Myanmar Foreign Ministry official Han Win Aung has said the plan follows repatriation operations in 2021 and 2022, when Myanmar received more than 1,100 of its nationals stranded in Malaysia.
He said the repatriation involves genuine citizens and is not about bringing back the Rohingya people, who are not recognized as an ethnic group in Myanmar and denied citizenship.
Malaysia's Home Ministry said in the statement that subsequent repatriations would proceed once identity verification, documentation, logistics and operational coordination between the two countries are finalized.
Two advocacy groups, Amnesty International and Asylum Access, in a joint statement urged the government to halt repatriations, saying the government's new system must not be used to fast-track unlawful deportations. Rights groups have also urged the government to restore the UNHCR’s access to detention centers to screen vulnerable refugees.
