Malaysia began sending Myanmar nationals back to their country Tuesday under a voluntary repatriation program, despite warnings from the United Nations refugee agency and rights groups that parts of Myanmar remain unsafe.
The first group of 1,476 people is among about 5,000 Myanmar nationals expected to return to Myanmar in stages. Malaysia’s Home Ministry said 10,388 Myanmar nationals were being held at immigration detention centers across the country as of Aug. 15.
A ministry official confirmed that the repatriation process began Tuesday. Buses believed to be carrying returnees arrived at a stadium in Manjung, in central Malaysia’s Perak state, amid tight security. Ships believed to belong to Myanmar were also seen docked at the nearby Lumut naval base.
The ministry said those in the first group had agreed to return voluntarily and would be transported using two Myanmar navy ships and a hospital vessel. Details about the returnees and their individual circumstances were not immediately available.
Myanmar has faced armed conflict and political instability since its military seized power in 2021.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees and rights organizations have urged Malaysia to proceed cautiously, saying security and humanitarian conditions in parts of Myanmar remain unstable and returnees could face serious risks.
Malaysia hosts about 215,600 refugees and asylum seekers registered with the UNHCR, including around 126,000 Rohingya Muslims. The country has one of Southeast Asia’s largest refugee populations.
However, Malaysia is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention and generally treats refugees as undocumented migrants.
The Rohingya have faced decades of discrimination and persecution in Myanmar, where authorities have largely denied them citizenship and refused to recognize them as an ethnic group. In Malaysia, they have also faced increasing public criticism linked to concerns about employment, public services, security and the size of the refugee population, as well as misinformation and inflammatory posts on social media.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has defended the repatriation program, describing it as part of diplomatic efforts to find a long-term solution. He has said Malaysia cannot continue hosting refugees indefinitely and that Myanmar should take responsibility for its citizens.
Anwar said he plans to invite Myanmar leader Min Aung Hlaing to Malaysia to discuss the long-running issue of refugees and undocumented migrants.
“I am inviting him to say that we can be friends and trade, we can accept Myanmar, but Myanmar must accept them back,” Anwar said in a podcast posted online Sept. 16. He said such engagement would be more effective than simply criticizing Myanmar.
Myanmar Foreign Ministry official Han Win Aung said the latest program follows similar repatriation operations in 2021 and 2022, when Myanmar received more than 1,100 nationals from Malaysia.
He said the current program involves Myanmar citizens and is not intended to repatriate Rohingya people.