Malaysia to repatriate 1,476 Myanmar nationals

Malaysia said it has finalised the first phase of a voluntary repatriation programme for Myanmar nationals, with 1,476 people expected to return on September 29.

The home ministry said the Myanmar government had identified the group through a diplomatic note. It said the repatriation process would use two Myanmar naval warships and a hospital ship.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced in July that Myanmar had agreed to take back 5,000 members of the persecuted Rohingya minority, prompting concern from rights groups.

Malaysia hosts more than 215,000 refugees and asylum seekers registered with the UN refugee agency, including more than 126,000 Rohingya from Myanmar. The home ministry said more than 95 percent of refugees in Malaysia are from Myanmar, including Rohingya, Chin, Karen and Mon communities.

The ministry said 4,008 people would go through a programme for registered refugees, while 5,000 others would undergo voluntary repatriation as agreed by Myanmar. It said 10,388 Myanmar nationals were held at immigration detention depots by mid-August, and that not all were considered refugees.

Malaysia's immigration department is working with police to verify detainees' identity, citizenship, immigration status, asylum claims and security background by the end of the year.

The repatriation plan was announced after Malaysian authorities detained more than 100 Rohingya who had gathered outside the UN refugee agency's office in Kuala Lumpur. They were later released after officials confirmed they held valid UN documents.

Malaysia's main Rohingya rights group urged the government to halt the plan, saying refugees' lives would be at risk if they were returned. Malaysia is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and does not formally recognise refugee status.