LUMUT, MALAYSIA — Malaysia has begun deporting Myanmar nationals, including children, saying the long‑standing refugee presence has become a “huge financial burden”, triggered a “serious social crisis” and created a “real security threat”, even as the UN and rights groups warn conditions in Myanmar remain unsafe for returns.
Around 1,500 people were sent back on Tuesday in the first phase of a repatriation programme agreed with Myanmar that could eventually see up to 5,000 returned, according to Malaysian authorities and state media. The home ministry said the process, carried out through diplomatic negotiations, was “orderly, responsible and humane” and aimed at reducing the number of asylum‑seekers, noting that Myanmar nationals make up more than 95% of refugees in the country. It did not specify how many were Rohingya or detail their refugee status.
The UNHCR has said current conditions in Myanmar “do not support the safe and sustainable return of refugees” and that it was not involved in identifying those being returned, while rights groups Amnesty International Malaysia and Asylum Access Malaysia said the deportations violate the principle of non‑refoulement, which bars returning people to places where they face persecution. Community representatives warned that some of those deported could face forced conscription into Myanmar’s military, with one activist describing it as “sending them to a death sentence in their own home”.
The push comes amid rising local hostility toward refugees, particularly Rohingya Muslims, and a wave of online hate speech and misinformation that has led to harassment and school closures for the community. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has sought to expedite returns through high‑level engagement with Myanmar’s leadership, saying this month he would invite President Min Aung Hlaing for an official visit in exchange for accepting Rohingya refugees, after Myanmar agreed in principle to take back as many as 5,000. Myanmar does not recognise the Rohingya as an ethnic group.