‘They are crying’: Refugees in Malaysia in fear amid Myanmar deportation

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia – The telephone hasn’t stopped ringing successful caller days. Raf*, a person of refugees from Myanmar who are surviving successful Malaysia, receives much than 100 calls a day, and they travel a communal pattern.

“They are crying, asking maine to bash something,” Raf told Al Jazeera.

The Malaysian authorities connected Tuesday deported astir 1,500 refugees, portion of its stated program to nonstop backmost astatine slightest 5,000 refugees arsenic portion of a woody with the subject authorities of Myanmar. That move, from a state that had agelong taken successful the refugees, has sparked fearfulness among the tens of thousands of different refugees from Myanmar successful the country, who person 1 question astatine the apical of their minds: Who mightiness beryllium next?

The deportation was carried retired during escalating raids connected exile communities by migration officials, which person led to the detention of much than 50,000 refugees this twelvemonth alone. Those moving with refugees successful Malaysia said the frequence of the raids has accrued since June erstwhile Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced the repatriation statement with Myanmar.

“[We’ve seen] a crisp increase. Raids are happening each azygous day. There’s up to 50 raids oregon much happening each day,” said Heidy Quah, laminitis and enforcement manager of the Malaysian nonprofit Refuge for the Refugees.

Minister of Home Affairs Saifuddin Nasution told section media that the authorities has conducted much than 9,700 specified operations from the opening of this twelvemonth until September 17. That’s an mean of 37 operations a day.

There are present much than 10,000 Myanmar nationals successful Malaysia’s migration depots, according to the Ministry of Home Affairs.

In all, Malaysia is location to much than 215,000 refugees, according to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Nearly 194,000 are from Myanmar. There are much than 126,000 Rohingya refugees successful Malaysia, wherever they person been the people of wide hatred code connected societal media successful caller months. Apart from the Rohingya, the Myanmar refugees successful Malaysia see astir 16,000 from the Chin assemblage and 33,000 from different Myanmar communities. The non-Myanmar refugees successful Malaysia see tiny numbers of Pakistanis, Yemenis, Somalis, Afghans, Syrians, Sri Lankans, Palestinians and Iraqis.

The Myanmar exile assemblage successful Malaysia has yet to place immoderate Rohingya among the archetypal astir 1,500 radical deported connected Tuesday, assemblage leaders told Al Jazeera. Instead, galore are from Myanmar’s different taste minorities, who are much apt to person valid nationalist recognition documents, assemblage leaders said.

“The Rohingyas are a occupation for deportation due to the fact that Myanmar denies their citizenship,” Raf said. “So I don’t deliberation that Myanmar volition hold and judge each those Rohingyas.”

Myanmar officially treats the Rohingya arsenic Bangladeshi immigrants contempt the community’s agelong roots successful Myanmar and their chiseled taste identity. The Myanmar service has repeatedly cracked down connected the Rohingya minority, including a question of unit successful 2017 that galore rights groups person described arsenic genocide. It acceptable disconnected a large exile situation erstwhile hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled to Bangladesh, Malaysia, India and different neighbouring nations.

Myanmar assemblage leaders besides said the raids this twelvemonth look to person targeted locations highlighted successful anti-refugee videos connected societal media successful which contented creators filmed refugee-populated areas, portraying them arsenic hubs of chaos. These videos person been shared thousands of times connected platforms specified arsenic Threads, TikTok and Facebook.

Al Jazeera contacted the Immigration Department to verify the nexus betwixt the videos and raids but had not received a effect astatine the clip of publication. Accounts that had posted and shared antirefugee sentiment besides did not respond to requests for comment.

Decline successful resources

The summation successful hostilities towards refugees successful Malaysia coincides with a crisp diminution successful the capableness of section and planetary assistance groups to enactment them, particularly since the closure of the United States Agency for International Development successful July 2025.

In Malaysia, this severely shrank resources for organisations helping refugees with basal needs, specified arsenic healthcare, Quah told Al Jazeera.

“Then slowly, United Nations organisations were being defunded, and adjacent wrong the UN High Commissioner for Refugees successful Malaysia, they mislaid a batch of staff,” Quah said. The occupation cuts reflected planetary retrenchments by UNHCR past year.

The bureau continues to conflict with a backing crisis, saying connected Tuesday that it faces a $5.79bn backing spread and, arsenic of July, has received 32 percent of the funds it needs this year.

In Malaysia, this has led to adjacent little extortion for refugees and higher rates of exploitation, Quah said.

“Even UNHCR cardholders are arrested and remanded for astir 14 days [while the] cards are verified,” she said.

For instance, an asylum-seeking pistillate who had scheduled an assignment to conscionable UNHCR representatives this period was precocious detained, and migration authorities demanded a missive from the organisation to beryllium that she was an asylum seeker, Quah said.

Although UNHCR confirmed the pistillate was seeking asylum, she remains successful detention, Quah said.

An archetypal radical of 1,476 radical from Myanmar are deported from Malaysia connected September 29, 2026, archetypal my autobus and past by Myanmar navy ships [Fazry Ismail/EPA]

Ongoing unit successful Myanmar

UNHCR and rights groups successful Malaysia person urged the Malaysian authorities to halt the deportations arsenic unit continues successful Myanmar.

A time earlier Malaysia’s deportation of the refugees connected Tuesday, an aerial onslaught by Myanmar’s subject was reported to person killed astatine slightest 33 radical successful Rakhine state, the humanities location of the Rohingya. The Arakan Army radical said the victims included vendors, shoppers and pedestrians. In June, the UN said Myanmar’s subject was liable for much than 700 civilian deaths implicit a six-month predetermination play that started successful August past year.

The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) said that portion Malaysia is not a enactment to the Refugee Convention of 1951, the rule of nonrefoulement has go portion of customary planetary instrumentality and Malaysia, therefore, is bound to abide by it. The rule protects radical from being returned to a spot wherever they look a existent hazard of persecution, torture oregon different superior harm.

Particular attraction should besides beryllium fixed to children, SUHAKAM said, highlighting that Tuesday’s deportation included 27 children, immoderate reportedly arsenic young arsenic 8 years old.

“No kid should beryllium returned to danger. Their safety, dignity and champion interests indispensable travel first,” it said.

Myanmar assemblage leaders successful Malaysia told Al Jazeera the ships that departed connected Tuesday volition get successful Yangon connected Sunday.

“After that, we volition [learn] whether they are allowed to permission the larboard safely [or are detained],” said 1 assemblage person who requested anonymity owed to the summation successful unit towards refugees successful Malaysia.

Still, adjacent those who are allowed to permission the larboard whitethorn request to walk months oregon years successful Yangon due to the fact that it is unsafe to question crossed the country, the assemblage person said.

Rohingya refugees look evictions from their homes successful Malaysia amid rising section tensions and online misinformation [File: Hasnoor Hussain/Reuters]

Call for autarkic access

Rights groups further criticised the Malaysian government’s framing of the deportations arsenic “voluntary”, saying individuals should person capable accusation astir conditions successful their location countries earlier making specified a decision.

“While authorities accidental the returns are voluntary, those returned had been held successful migration detention. This raises superior questions astir whether decisions to instrumentality were genuinely escaped and informed,” UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Protection Edem Wosornu said.

The Malaysian authorities said radical were selected for deportation based connected a database of names shared by the Myanmar authorities successful an authoritative diplomatic note.

“Such [a] ‘voluntary’ determination indispensable beryllium determined by an autarkic authority, specified arsenic the UNHCR, and not by the Immigration Department,” SUHAKAM said .

UNHCR told Al Jazeera that it was not progressive successful the latest instrumentality process and did not person entree to the individuals concerned. “[We were,] therefore, not successful a presumption to independently ascertain the voluntariness of their decisions to return,” it said.

“We proceed to promote the authorities to guarantee that instrumentality processes see idiosyncratic assessments, entree to extortion procedures and safeguards to guarantee that immoderate determination to instrumentality is free, informed and genuinely voluntary,” it said.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has agelong positioned himself arsenic a champion of quality rights but present faces disapproval for the expulsion of Myanmar refugees [File: Rafiq Maqbool/AP]

Malaysia registering refugees

The deportations travel astatine a clip erstwhile Malaysia is simultaneously positioning itself arsenic welcoming to refugees and their needs.

In 2015, the Malaysian authorities launched a Refugee Registration Document (DPP) programme. On paper, it is expected to assistance registry refugees, giving them authoritative documentation.

Raf welcomed the DPP arsenic agelong arsenic the registration and documentation of refugees successful Malaysia leads to entree to work, acquisition and healthcare.

“If these 3 things are provided, I deliberation that’s a bully solution for impermanent refugees staying here.”

But the Malaysian branches of Amnesty International and Asylum Access said the latest deportations rise profound concerns astir the intent of the DPP. The programme should not beryllium utilized to fast-track unlawful deportations, the groups said successful a associated statement.

*Name changed to support the individual’s identity