Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim told Parliament that those being repatriated must agree to return voluntarily and sign their consent without coercion. “Otherwise, we cannot guarantee their welfare and human rights.”
Was the guarantee sincere or a false promise?
That guarantee now needs to be independently confirmed, without blindly trusting the words of Myanmar’s military-backed leader, Min Aung Hlaing, or the Myanmar government.
Have any of the 10,000 sent back to Myanmar been arrested, tortured, prosecuted or even forcibly conscripted into the army that is still fighting ethnic minority groups and pro-democracy forces led by the National Unity Government (NUG).
Or are they all safely at home, with their welfare and human rights protected as Malaysia guaranteed?
If the guarantee was false, it also goes directly to the consent allegedly given by those sent back to Myanmar. Was the guarantee a deception to obtain ‘consent’ from those Malaysia wanted to send back?
To date, Malaysia has yet to confirm that all 10,000 sent back (including refugees) are safe. A guarantee creates a binding duty to fulfil the promised obligation.
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Not 1,473, but 10,000
Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet) is also shocked by the prime minister’s recent revelation.
Anwar clarified that the 1,400 referred to the latest group repatriated by sea, while more than 10,000 Myanmar nationals had been returned since January. “Under our agreement so far, we have said that Myanmar nationals are to be repatriated, whether they are from the Arakan, Karen, Shan or Rohingya ethnic groups,” he said during Prime Minister’s Question Time.
What Malaysia has done is highly dangerous. The Burman-majority government is still in armed conflict with ethnic minority groups such as Shan, Karen, Rakhine (Arakanese), Mon, Chin, Kachin and Kareni.
Since the 2021 military coup, the Myanmar government has also been at war with pro-democracy forces, including the NUG. The NUG is a shadow government formed by ousted lawmakers to oppose the military junta.
Last month, a Myanmar military air strike on a riverside commercial hub in Kyauktaw town, in western Rakhine state, killed about 50 people. They included “innocent passersby, market vendors, shoppers and cargo loaders”.
No returns while conflict continues
Malaysia should never have sent back those from the Arakan, Karen, Shan or Rohingya ethnic groups, or any group where conflict or war still exists. It is against international law and violates the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other UN instruments.
Under international law, countries cannot send refugees back to places where their lives or freedom are in danger because of war or conflict.
Even if the Myanmar regime gives assurances, it cannot justify Malaysia’s return of refugees and asylum seekers to Myanmar.
The Malaysian Bar, in a statement on 10 August, highlighted the case of AAA v Secretary of State for the Home Department (2023). In it, the UK Supreme Court unanimously struck down an arrangement to transfer asylum seekers to Rwanda.
The court found that diplomatic assurances cannot override the receiving state’s poor human rights record and history of non-compliance with international obligations. It concluded there were substantial grounds to believe that transferred asylum seekers would face a real risk of refoulement (forced return to danger).
Similarity to Palestine
Just as returning Palestinian refugees from other countries to the Zionist Israel government, including illegally occupied territories, is wrong, so too no refugees or asylum seekers should be sent back to Myanmar.
Like the Zionist Israel regime, the Myanmar regime is similar, and Malaysia must be consistent in its position on human rights.
Alleged breach of international law
The Malaysian human rights commission Suhakam has urged the government to halt any further repatriation of Myanmar refugees. It said that under customary international law, refugees should not be returned home if they face a real risk of persecution, torture or other serious harm.
“Being a principle of customary international law, this principle binds all states regardless of whether or not they are parties to the Refugee Convention. This means that Malaysia, although not a party to the Refugee Convention, is bound to adhere to this principle.
“Hence, Malaysia is prohibited by international law from repatriating any refugee or asylum seeker to Myanmar if there is a reasonable risk that their life or freedom will be threatened on account of their race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.
“Any violation of this cardinal principle is a violation of international law,” the commission said in a statement
The UN has sharply criticised Malaysia’s push to return migrants to Myanmar under an opaque scheme that, it says, cannot guarantee safe homecomings to the war-torn nation.
On 6 October, 23 groups from around the world, including Madpet, called on Malaysia to immediately stop sending back to Myanmar people who are most likely refugees or asylum seekers, including stateless Rohingya. They said this was a gross violation of human rights and international law. They join many others making similar calls.
However, Malaysia remains adamant about continuing, based on the prime minister’s statement in Parliament. This means more people are at risk of being sent back to Myanmar.
Is Malaysia upholding refugee rights?
Worse, Malaysia has asked the UN refugee agency to temporarily stop registering new refugees in the country, as reported on 27 July.
Deputy Foreign Affairs Minister Lukanisman Awang Sauni said the suspension would allow the government to implement its own refugee registration programme, known as the DPP, which it launched in January.
There was hope that Malaysia’s programme, which began on 1 January, was the first step towards legal recognition and protection of refugees and asylum seekers. The government also talked about allowing refugees to work in Malaysia.
However, to date no law has been enacted recognising refugees. The Immigration Act still does not recognise refugees and asylum seekers as people legally allowed to be in Malaysia.
The act only recognises foreign nationals with visas or permits to stay and work legally, do business or enter Malaysia as tourists. It needs to be amended so that refugees and asylum seekers have the right to be legally present in Malaysia.
Until this is done, they remain at risk of being arrested, convicted and even whipped for being in Malaysia illegally.
We recall Anwar’s words at the UN General Assembly in 2023: “We are deeply horrified by the continued post-coup violence and instability in Myanmar… The barbarism and depravity inflicted upon the people of Myanmar is indefensible, and goes against the values and principles shared by the peoples in the region and globally.”
Malaysia has long had a strong, principled stance on human rights and against violations by the Myanmar regime. But despite the ongoing injustice, Malaysia may now be violating human rights.
It is shocking that the red carpet was rolled out for Myanmar’s junta chief Min Aung Hlaing. Is this the right treatment for the leader of a nation that is still committing human rights violations?
The Myanmar regime has caused the deaths of more than 100,000 people and the displacement of more than 750,000 Rohingya.
The International Court of Justice (ICJ) concluded oral hearings on the merits in the genocide case The Gambia v Myanmar in January 2026. It is now deliberating its final decision, including whether Myanmar is guilty of the crime of genocide.
Madpet therefore calls on Malaysia to:
- Immediately verify that all the 10,000 people repatriated, who consented in reliance on Malaysia’s guarantee that their welfare and human rights would be protected, are really getting what was promised. Independent verification with those sent back is best, not reliance on Myanmar’s assurances
- Stop any further sending back of people to Myanmar, given the ongoing conflict and the fact that Myanmar still does not recognise Rohingya as citizens
- Ensure that the consent allegedly given by those sent back was freely given, and make sure in future that Suhakam or another independent body can verify that consent was freely given by those Malaysia intends to send back
- Enact laws that recognise refugees and asylum seekers as people legally in Malaysia, removing the risk of wrongful arrest, detention, conviction or whipping
- Respect human rights and international law, and review its position on Myanmar in the light of the ongoing injustices and human rights violations
- Respect human rights and justice, and never act in violation of international law or the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, whose Article 14 states: “Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution. – Madpet
Charles Hector issued this statement on behalf of Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet).
The views expressed in Aliran's media statements and the NGO statements we have endorsed reflect Aliran's official stand. Views and opinions expressed in other pieces published here do not necessarily reflect Aliran's official position.
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