Malaysia Begins Myanmar Repatriations Despite UN Safety Warnings

MANJUNG – Malaysia has begun repatriating Myanmar nationals through a voluntary program, despite warnings from the United Nations refugee agency and rights organizations that conditions in Myanmar remain unsafe.

The first group of 1,476 people began its journey Tuesday. They are among 5,000 Myanmar nationals scheduled to be returned in stages from Malaysia, where 10,388 Myanmar nationals were held at immigration detention depots nationwide as of Aug. 15, according to Malaysia’s Home Ministry.

A ministry official confirmed that the repatriation was underway Tuesday. Buses believed to be transporting returnees arrived at a stadium in Manjung, in Malaysia’s central Perak state, amid tight security. Ships believed to belong to Myanmar were docked at the nearby Lumut naval base.

The ministry said members of the initial group had agreed to return under a process intended to ensure their safety. Two Myanmar navy warships and a hospital ship are being used for the operation. Authorities did not immediately release details about the returnees’ identities or circumstances.

Myanmar has been gripped by armed conflict and political instability since the military seized power in 2021.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and rights groups have called for caution, warning that security and humanitarian conditions remain volatile in parts of Myanmar and that returnees could face serious risks.

Malaysia hosts about 215,600 refugees and asylum seekers registered with the UNHCR, including approximately 126,000 Rohingya Muslims, who form one of Southeast Asia’s largest refugee communities. Malaysia is not a party to the U.N. Refugee Convention and classifies refugees as undocumented migrants.

The Rohingya have endured decades of discrimination and persecution in Myanmar, where authorities have largely denied them citizenship and refused to recognize them as an ethnic group. In Malaysia, they have also faced increasing public hostility driven by concerns about employment, public services, security and the size of the refugee population, along with misinformation and inflammatory social media rhetoric.

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Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has defended the repatriation policy as part of a diplomatic effort to seek a long-term solution. He has said Malaysia cannot host refugees indefinitely and that Myanmar must take responsibility for its citizens.

Anwar also said he intends to invite Myanmar leader Min Aung Hlaing to Malaysia to discuss the refugee and undocumented migrant issue, which has persisted 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,” Anwar 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 said the current plan follows repatriation operations in 2021 and 2022, when Myanmar received more than 1,100 nationals stranded in Malaysia.

He said the operation concerns people confirmed to be genuine Myanmar citizens and does not involve returning Rohingya.

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A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that the repatriation program began Monday.