Malaysia returns 1,500 Myanmar nationals to Yangon — SkimNews
Get the Geopolitics newsletter
Daily geopolitics — wars, elections, sanctions, the diplomatic moves that move markets. Free.
- Malaysia sent back nearly 1,500 Myanmar nationals who arrived in Yangon on Sunday aboard two navy warships and a hospital ship, including 86 women convicted of immigration violations, according to regional government minister Nay Lin Tun.
- The deportation is the first phase of a plan to repatriate 5,000 Myanmar nationals from Malaysia in stages, with 10,388 others still held in Malaysian immigration detention centres, per the country's Home Ministry.
- UN special rapporteur Kelley E. Currie said Malaysia is obligated under international law to uphold the principle of non-refoulement and warned that "the risk of refoulement in the present circumstances is substantial."
- UNHCR and rights groups warned returnees could face persecution and forced military conscription in active war zones, while Myanmar's Foreign Ministry official Han Win Aung told the AP the group involved "genuine citizens."
- Myanmar military chief Min Aung Hlaing, sworn in as president in April after the February 2021 coup, is expected to visit Malaysia this month to discuss refugee and migrant issues.
- Malaysia is not a party to the UN Refugee Convention and treats refugees as undocumented migrants, despite hosting about 126,000 Rohingya — one of Southeast Asia's largest refugee communities — among 215,600 registered refugees and asylum seekers.
Why it matters: Malaysia still holds 10,388 Myanmar nationals at immigration detention centres, with roughly 3,500 more deportations planned in subsequent stages, meaning the non-refoulement dispute will escalate. The deportations coincide with Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing's planned visit to Malaysia to discuss refugee issues, signaling continued bilateral cooperation on migration despite UN warnings of persecution and forced conscription for returnees.
Ask SkimNews
