Why Malaysia is repatriating thousands of Burmese migrants

Malaysia has begun sending migrants from Myanmar home, with the first group of almost 1,500 people arriving in southern Yangon in early October. Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says in total, 5,000 people will be sent home, and he describes the repatriations as ‘voluntary’, a claim human rights groups question.

The migrants being repatriated have been living in detention centers often in poor conditions, with no prospect of long-term residency as Malaysia is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention and does not legally recognize refugees or asylum seekers.

The country also treats all undocumented migrants as illegal immigrants, leaving them in legal limbo.

But human rights groups say returning to Myanmar isn’t much of an alternative. Burmese nationals returning to their home country run the risk of being conscripted into the local military junta or ethnic rebel groups.

And the Rohingyas, a stateless ethnic minority group that fled a Myanmar military crackdown in 2017, could face a particularly troubling fate if returned to Myanmar, as they do not have citizenship and have no safe place to return to.

Attitudes in Malaysia towards migrants fleeing from Myanmar have been relatively welcoming in the past, and there are now almost 200,000 migrants in the country.

So what’s changed? And what does the repatriation policy say about Prime Minister Anwar Ibraham’s political position?

On this episode of Asia Specific, host Mariko Oi is joined by BBC South East Asia correspondent Jonathan Head and human rights lawyer for Asylum Access Malaysia, Joanne Chua.

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