Nearly 1,500 Myanmar Migrants Return From Malaysia Despite UN Warnings

Nearly 1,500 Myanmar refugees and migrants deported from Malaysia have arrived in Yangon under a repatriation programme criticised by human rights groups and the United Nations refugee agency.

The 1,479 returnees travelled from Malaysia aboard two navy vessels and a hospital ship and arrived in southern Yangon early Sunday, according to regional government minister Nay Lin Tun.

They are part of a wider plan to repatriate 5,000 Myanmar nationals in stages. Malaysia’s Home Ministry has said more than 10,300 Myanmar nationals remain in immigration detention centres.

Malaysian authorities maintain that those returning agreed to voluntary repatriation. However, rights groups have questioned whether refugees were able to make free choices given their detention and the continuing conflict in Myanmar.

The UN refugee agency said its staff were not permitted to meet the returnees before departure to determine whether their decisions were genuinely voluntary and informed.

Rohingya form the largest group of Myanmar refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia, although it remains unclear how many Rohingya were among those returned.

The deportations come amid intensified immigration raids in Malaysia, which have led to the detention of more than 50,000 refugees during 2026, according to the report.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced the repatriation initiative in July. Malaysia is also preparing to return another group of more than 3,500 refugees and migrants, citing financial, social and security pressures.

Malaysia is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention and generally classifies refugees as undocumented migrants.

The country currently hosts about 215,600 refugees and asylum seekers registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, including more than 126,000 mainly Muslim Rohingya who fled persecution and violence in Myanmar.

Source: Al Jazeera