Malaysia: Regional MPs call for suspension of repatriation plans to Myanmar

JAKARTA – Malaysia must immediately suspend the planned repatriation of Myanmar nationals, amid reports that Myanmar’s military government has offered to take back its citizens held in Malaysian immigration detention centers, Southeast Asian parliamentarians said today. 

“It is utterly abhorrent that Malaysia is cooperating with the Myanmar junta that has illegally seized power, and even more so to return Myanmar nationals to a situation of danger and unrest. Many of them could be refugees and asylum seekers who will be put back into the hands of the Myanmar military who caused them to flee violence and desperation in the country in the first place,” said Chamnan Chanruang, a member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), and a former Thai Member of Parliament (MP). “Malaysian authorities should immediately grant access to UNHCR to verify the identities of those in immigration detention centers and ensure that nobody requiring international protection is returned to Myanmar,” he said. 

The government of Malaysia accepted an offer by the Myanmar military to send three navy ships on 21 February for 1,200 Myanmar nationals held in Malaysian immigration detention centers to be returned to Myanmar. Although Malaysia has said that it will not deport any UNHCR card holders, UNHCR has not had access to immigration detention centers in Malaysia since August 2019, and it is therefore believed that there may nevertheless be refugees and asylum seekers among those scheduled to be deported who were arrested in mass immigration raids by Malaysian authorities last year. They are likely to face persecution upon return to Myanmar. 

Parliamentarians from the region are highly concerned about the safety and wellbeing of Myanmar nationals currently in the detention centers, and urge Malaysia to respect its commitments to international law and international protection, including the principle of non-refoulement. They urge the government to recognize that the recent military coup could result in more widespread human rights abuses, and threatens peace and stability in the region. 

“The coup is threatening the lives of all vulnerable communities. There is no doubt that the risk of further discrimination and violence against ethnic and religious minorities, including the Rohingya, is high. We know what the Myanmar military is capable of in terms of human rights abuses,” said Teddy Baguilat, an APHR Board Member, and former Philippine MP.

“Instead of pandering to the Myanmar military government and putting more lives at risk, Malaysia should instead work with its ASEAN neighbors to help protect the lives of the Myanmar people currently peacefully protesting, and at risk of a violent crackdown at the hands of the junta,” Baguilat said.