Malaysia vows not to return Myanmar refugees if lives at risk

Malaysia has said it will not proceed with the repatriation of 5,000 Rohingya refugees to Myanmar if their lives would be at risk upon return.

On Wednesday, government spokesman Fahmi Fadzil said the foreign and home ministries were still reviewing the repatriation plan voiced last week by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Malaysia hosts more than 215,000 refugees and asylum seekers registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, including more than 126,000 Rohingya from Myanmar, the country’s largest refugee community.

Although it hosts one of Southeast Asia’s biggest refugee populations, Malaysia is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and does not formally recognise refugee status.

Many Rohingya fled Myanmar during the military’s 2017 crackdown, which forced thousands to seek refuge abroad.

Rights groups say Rohingya refugees in Malaysia have faced growing online hate campaigns and disinformation, fuelling xenophobia and intimidation.

Wednesday’s announcement came after refugee schools across Malaysia were forced to shut down amid a surge in online hate speech, refugees were evicted from informal settlements in Penang state, and more than 100 Rohingya were briefly detained after gathering outside the UN refugee agency’s office in Kuala Lumpur to seek assistance.

They were later released after officials confirmed they held valid UN documentation.

‘Responsible country’

Fadzil said Malaysia would only proceed with the plan after assessing whether the refugees would face persecution or threats to their lives if returned.

“Malaysia, as a responsible country, will not return the 5,000 Myanmar refugees if they would either be persecuted or their lives would be threatened,” he told a news briefing.

He added that Myanmar’s military government, led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, had indicated it was ready to receive the refugees, but stressed that Malaysia would first assess the criteria for the repatriation before deciding whether to proceed.

Rights group oppose plan

The plan has drawn criticism from rights groups. Human Rights Watch urged Malaysia to reverse course, warning that Rohingya refugees remain at risk of persecution and other serious rights abuses in Myanmar.

“The Malaysian government should show regional leadership in responding to the crisis in Myanmar rather than forcibly returning people who are the targets of the junta’s brutality,” Bryony Lau, the organisation’s deputy director for Asia, said in a statement.

Malaysia’s main Rohingya rights group also urged the government to halt the plan, saying refugees’ lives would be at risk if they were returned.

Myanmar’s military authorities have not publicly commented on the proposal.

-Al Jazeera