Malaysia begins deportations, but hostility towards Rohingya refugees not stopping any time soon

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia will send back its first batch of 1,476 Myanmar nationals on Sept 29 under a phased repatriation programme, despite intense pressure from rights organisations and the United Nations refugee agency to halt the returns.

​The deportations represent the first wave of a broader agreement with Naypyitaw that could see up to 5,000 Myanmar nationals returned. The Malaysian government has maintained that the programme is strictly voluntary but rights groups and the UNHCR have raised concerns over the safety of those being returned as conflict continues in Myanmar.

The anxiety over the move is reflected in James Bawi, a Chin community leader in Kuala Lumpur. For him, the imminent departures have cast a deep shadow over families already living in perpetual fear of immigration raids.

​“What we can do is very limited,” Bawi told The Straits Times. “We have made our concerns and demands clear, but the final decision and authority are beyond our capacity as a refugee community.”

The planned returns mark a critical test for Malaysia’s handling of vulnerable populations as Kuala Lumpur balances domestic security and public unease against mounting international criticism.

With hundreds of thousands of refugees still living in legal limbo, the deportations highlight the precarious reality facing displaced communities across South-east Asia as host nations increasingly tighten immigration enforcement.

​Bawi, who runs a school for refugees, said parents are increasingly fearful of sending their children to classes. While many refugees are terrified to step outside, they face an impossible choice in a country where they must work informally to survive.

​“They are afraid to go outside, but they also cannot afford to stay home,” Bawi said.

Why return to Myanmar is risky

​For those facing deportation, the journey carries grave risks.

Myanmar remains engulfed in widespread civil conflict following the 2021 military coup, and the junta’s aggressive conscription laws have raised acute fears of forced recruitment or military detention.

Human rights advocates noted that forcing refugees back into active conflict zones directly risks violating the international principle of “non-refoulement”, which strictly forbids returning individuals to countries where they face prosecution, torture or serious harm.

​“For some people, deportation does not simply mean going home,” Bawi added. “It could mean arrest, detention, forced conscription or facing serious danger.”

​The desperation extends across ethnic lines. Rahman Shah, a third-generation Rohingya community leader who has lived in Malaysia for 45 years, speaks fluent, effortless Malay, a reflection of decades rooted in local society.

While he acknowledged local public concerns regarding foreign populations, he warned that enforcement pressures are pushing refugees to the brink of survival.

Public perception of refugees, particularly the Rohingya, has grown increasingly hostile, fuelled by economic anxieties and targeted online hate campaigns.

On social media platforms, derogatory terms, including a slur that compares the community to large municipal waste bins, are frequently used to dehumanise the population.

​Some refugees have been physically assaulted by locals who were influenced by the disinformation about Rohingya, Rahman noted, while others are now too terrified to step outside even to buy basic food supplies.

​“If this continues, it will lead to a humanitarian crisis and starvation,” Rahman said.

​Rahman acknowledged that some individuals may break local laws while attempting to survive, but urged the authorities against collective punishment.

Malaysia’s official stance on repatriation

​The human crisis unfolds against a massive scale of displacement. As at late February, some 215,600 refugees and asylum-seekers were registered with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in Malaysia.

Of those, 193,824 hailed from Myanmar, including 64,680 children under the age of 18. According to UN figures, the group includes 126,144 from the Rohingya community, 15,774 Chin and 33,002 people from other minority ethnic groups.

​According to an Aug 27 press statement from the Malaysian Home Ministry, the initial 1,476 individuals were identified directly by Myanmar’s government.

In addition to the 5,000 targeted for phased repatriation, another 4,008 nationals, mostly Rohingya, will be channelled to a new domestic registration scheme aimed at verifying identity, national security background and immigration status.

​Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim confirmed in a podcast posted on his Facebook page on Sept 16 that Myanmar agreed to receive its nationals following direct bilateral negotiations.

Addressing domestic concerns, Anwar stated that while public security remains a priority, enforcement actions must not involve physical abuse, humiliation or inhumane treatment.

​However, the UNHCR maintains that conditions in Myanmar remain far too volatile for safe returns.

The agency clarified that it holds no operational role in the current repatriation exercise, reiterating that any return must be voluntary, fully informed and conducted under verified conditions of safety and dignity.

​For the vast majority of refugees remaining in Malaysia, the naval departure on Sept 29 offers no resolution.

They will continue navigating daily life without legal status, balancing the need to feed their families against the daily risk of detention, while those aboard the transport vessels sail towards an unpromising horizon on the other side.

For Rahman, the work continues to educate the refugees on how to live in harmony with the locals until the day they have to return home.