Malaysia starts sending Myanmar migrants home - CNA

Dozens of buses arrived under police escort at the Majlis Perbandaran Manjung stadium near the Lumut naval base in northwestern Malaysia. The migrants were expected to be processed before being taken to Myanmar by ship.

Rohingya refugees gather in front of the office of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) after being evicted from their homes on Jul 27, 2026. (File Photo: Reuters/Hasnoor Hussain)

LUMUT, Malaysia: Malaysia began sending back around 1,500 Myanmar nationals Tuesday (Sep 29), the government confirmed, as it launched a scheme rights groups say may endanger migrants by returning them to the war-torn country.The group is the first of 5,000 Myanmar nationals Malaysia says have agreed to "voluntary" repatriation from detention centres.

Both the UN and advocacy organisations voiced concern on Tuesday, saying the group could face dangerous homecomings in Myanmar, where war has raged since 2021.Neither Malaysia nor Myanmar have officially clarified the number of Rohingya in the first group, and there is worry they may be returned to a country where they face persecution rights groups say amounts to genocide.

On Tuesday afternoon, AFP reporters saw three ships belonging to the Myanmar navy departing from Malaysia's Lumut naval base around 5pm local time.This included the auxiliary support and hospital ship Than Lwin and the amphibious landing platform ship Moattama, which had been used in a previous repatriation exercise.

Malaysia's Home Affairs Ministry in a statement confirmed that the repatriations were underway.

CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less "Today, 1,476 individuals have commenced Phase One of the repatriation programme, based on a list submitted by the Myanmar Government via an official Diplomatic Note," it said in a statement.

It added that the repatriation was part of the government's plan to resolve the "legacy issue" of foreign asylum-seekers in Malaysia -- of which it said 95 per cent were from Myanmar.

"This long-standing issue has imposed a significant financial burden on the nation, triggered serious social crises, and created tangible security threats for the Malaysian people," the statement said.

But in Geneva, United Nations refugee agency spokesman Matthew Saltmarsh told reporters "we are concerned by the reported imminent return of some 1,500 individuals from Myanmar to that country".

"Under international law no one should be sent to a country where they may face persecution, torture, serious harm, or other threats to life, liberty, and security," he said. 

Earlier Tuesday dozens of buses arrived under police escort at the Majlis Perbandaran Manjung stadium near the Lumut naval base in northwestern Malaysia, AFP correspondents saw, where the migrants were processed.

A Myanmar security source, requesting anonymity because they were not authorised to talk to media, said the boats are due to dock at Thanlyin Navy Base just south of Yangon around the end of this week.

Rohingya, a persecuted Muslim minority, make up two-thirds of the 190,000 Myanmar refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia, according to the United Nations.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced in July that Myanmar had agreed to take back 5,000 members of the Rohingya, in a rare repatriation push.

Observers say mounting public fatigue over refugees, along with domestic political expediency, were among the factors behind Malaysia’s shift in its policies towards refugees, even as some refugees told CNA it was still unsafe to return to their homeland.The repatriation plan was announced after authorities detained more than 100 Rohingya who had gathered outside the UN refugee agency's office in Kuala Lumpur.The refugees were seeking help after being threatened with eviction from an informal settlement in northern Penang state.They were later released after officials confirmed they held valid UN documentation.Myanmar earlier this month pledged "safe and dignified" returns for its citizens displaced abroad, after criticism from the United Nations and rights groups.

Last week more than 160 civil society groups in a joint statement called upon the Malaysian government to "immediately halt the deportations", pending talks with civil organisations about the situation on the ground in Myanmar.

Anwar said he would invite Myanmar's coup leader-turned-civilian president Min Aung Hlaing for an official visit to help expedite the repatriation process.

But the civil groups urged that "Malaysia's engagement with the junta must not come at the expense of its own reputation and integrity".

Malaysia, which shelters one of Southeast Asia's biggest refugee populations, is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and does not formally recognise refugee status.

Malaysia's approach, however, "remains grounded in the values of compassion and the ASEAN spirit of family, ensuring that actions are carried out in an orderly, responsible, and humane manner without compromising national security and sovereignty", the home affairs ministry said.AFP fact-checkers have found that Rohingya refugees in Malaysia have been targeted by online disinformation campaigns that rights advocates say are fuelling xenophobia and intimidation.Many of the Rohingya escaped Myanmar during a brutal military crackdown in 2017.

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