KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Wednesday that he plans to invite Myanmar’s leader, Min Aung Hlaing, for an official visit aimed at accelerating the repatriation of Rohingya refugees.
Malaysia hosts more than 215,000 refugees and asylum seekers registered with the United Nations refugee agency, including over 126,000 Rohingya from Myanmar, making them the country’s largest refugee community.
Anwar said Myanmar had agreed to receive 5,000 Rohingya, while both countries were preparing for the voluntary repatriation of nearly 1,500 Myanmar nationals by the end of September. It remains unclear how many Rohingya will be included in the first group.
“Two weeks ago, I told the Home Ministry and Cabinet ministers that I would invite the Myanmar president to make an official visit to Malaysia,” Anwar said during a podcast interview.
Explaining the move, he said Malaysia was ready to maintain friendly relations and trade with Myanmar, but expected the country to accept its citizens back. He added that the repatriation could take place in stages if Myanmar was unable to receive all the refugees at once.
The plan has raised concerns among rights organisations, which have called for returns to be safe, voluntary and dignified. Myanmar pledged earlier this month to ensure safe and dignified returns after the United Nations and rights groups questioned the planned repatriation.
The announcement followed the detention of more than 100 Rohingya refugees who gathered outside the UN refugee agency’s office in Kuala Lumpur in July. They were protesting threats of eviction from an informal settlement in northern Penang state and were later released after officials confirmed that they possessed valid UN documents.
Malaysia is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and does not formally recognise refugee status. Rights advocates have also warned that online misinformation targeting Rohingya refugees is contributing to xenophobia and intimidation. Many Rohingya fled Myanmar following a brutal military crackdown in 2017.