Malaysian PM says Myanmar agrees to take 5,000 Rohingya refugees from Malaysia

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced Wednesday that Myanmar has agreed to accept 5,000 Rohingya asylum seekers residing in Malaysia. The agreement follows recent tensions between the refugee population and local Malaysian communities.

Speaking at a campaign rally ahead of regional elections, Anwar stated that "good relations with Myanmar" facilitated the negotiation. He provided no further details on the arrangement. Malaysia, a Muslim-majority nation, has historically been a refuge for Rohingya fleeing persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar. As of February, approximately 126,000 Rohingya were registered with the UNHCR in Malaysia.

Rohingya have been denied citizenship in Myanmar for decades, rendering them the world's largest stateless population, according to the UN. Myanmar's presidential office and the UNHCR in Kuala Lumpur did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Anwar's statement.

The UN refugee agency had previously affirmed its commitment to working with Malaysia after the Malaysian foreign minister urged a review of UNHCR operations unless stricter controls were placed on refugee document issuance. This call came after Malaysian authorities detained over 100 Rohingya refugees outside the UNHCR office in Kuala Lumpur. The refugees, who reportedly held valid UNHCR documents, sought assistance after claiming eviction from their homes in Penang state.

In recent months, Rohingya refugees in Malaysia have faced increased harassment and scrutiny, fueled by online hate speech and misinformation. This has led to measures such as the closure of community schools. Malaysia, not a signatory to the UN refugee convention, considers asylum seekers illegal migrants. Earlier this month, the country requested the UNHCR to temporarily halt new refugee registrations while it develops a domestic system for managing asylum seekers. In 2021, Malaysia deported over 1,000 Myanmar nationals by ship, despite a court-ordered halt and concerns from rights groups that the repatriation included asylum seekers and registered refugees.

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We have good relations with Myanmar. They have now agreed to take 5,000 Rohingya from Malaysia.