Malaysia faces scrutiny over Myanmar repatriations

Malaysia is facing scrutiny over plans to repatriate thousands of Myanmar migrants after Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim hosted Myanmar leader Min Aung Hlaing during a two-day visit.

Min Aung Hlaing said Thursday in Putrajaya that Myanmar would accept more verified Myanmar nationals held in Malaysia “as soon as possible”, despite human rights concerns over the returns.

Nearly 1,500 migrants arrived back in Myanmar on Sunday after a five-day navy vessel voyage from Malaysia, where they had been held in detention centres. Myanmar says it has repatriated about 8,000 citizens by air and 1,500 by sea so far this year, while Malaysia says it is preparing 3,500 more people to return.

Anwar announced in July that Myanmar had agreed to take back 5,000 Rohingya, but Malaysia's government later said those returned would be from various ethnic groups, not only Rohingya. Kuala Lumpur has not said what proportion of returnees are Rohingya.

Malaysia says all migrants sent back made voluntary decisions to return from detention centres. The United Nations has criticised the scheme as opaque and said it fails to provide guarantees of safety on return, as required by international law.

Malaysia hosts 190,000 Myanmar refugees or asylum seekers, according to the UN, about two-thirds of them from the Rohingya ethnic group. The country has long hosted people fleeing Myanmar, but experts said anti-migrant and anti-Rohingya sentiment has grown since the Covid-19 pandemic.

Khoo Ying Hooi of Universiti Malaya said there had been a visible surge this year in anti-Rohingya rhetoric online and harassment. Yap Lay Sheng of Fortify Rights described Anwar's repatriation push as an “election ploy” aimed at courting ethnic Malay voters.

Min Aung Hlaing led Myanmar's military when it began a 2017 crackdown that drove many Rohingya from western Myanmar. The campaign is being examined by the International Court of Justice as a possible genocide, and many rights monitors and some countries already deem it one.

Min Aung Hlaing also led the 2021 coup that plunged Myanmar into civil war. He is seeking broader diplomatic engagement after being installed as civilian president in April following elections criticised by democracy watchdogs.