by RK Desk
August 5, 2026
Malaysia will not proceed with the planned return of thousands of people to Myanmar if assessments find that they could face persecution or threats to their lives, a government spokesperson said on Wednesday.
The statement follows growing criticism of Malaysia’s plan to return up to 5,000 people to Myanmar. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim previously described the proposed returnees as Rohingya refugees, although other Malaysian and Myanmar officials have issued conflicting accounts about who would be included.
Communications Minister and government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil said Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry and Home Ministry were reviewing the proposed return and holding discussions with Myanmar authorities.
He said Malaysia would not send anyone back if the process endangered their life or exposed them to persecution.
“Malaysia is a responsible country,” Fahmi said, explaining that the government would first assess whether conditions permitted any return to proceed safely.
Malaysian authorities are currently screening and documenting people who may be included in the proposed transfer. No final list of returnees or date for the operation has been publicly confirmed.
Anwar earlier said Myanmar authorities had agreed to receive 5,000 Rohingya from Malaysia. He linked the proposed return to rising tensions between sections of the Malaysian public and the Rohingya refugee community.
However, Malaysia’s Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail described those being screened more broadly as Myanmar nationals held in immigration detention centres and did not confirm that all of them were Rohingya.
Myanmar officials have also denied that the agreement specifically covers Rohingya. An official from Myanmar’s Foreign Affairs Ministry said the authorities would accept only people verified as Myanmar citizens, not Rohingya whom the state continues to deny recognition as an official ethnic group.
The conflicting statements have raised serious questions about how the Malaysian government intends to identify the proposed returnees, assess their protection needs, and obtain guarantees for their safety.
Tensions surrounding Rohingya refugees in Malaysia have intensified in recent weeks. Rohingya families in Penang were reportedly forced to leave their rented homes, while several refugee-run schools suspended activities amid threats, harassment, and growing hostility.
More than 100 Rohingya, including women and children, later gathered outside the UN Refugee Agency office in Kuala Lumpur seeking assistance. Police relocated them for documentation and screening before those holding valid UNHCR documents were placed under temporary supervision.
Human Rights Watch has called on Malaysia to abandon any plan that could result in refugees or asylum seekers being forcibly returned to Myanmar.
The rights group said Rohingya continue to face systematic persecution, denial of citizenship, movement restrictions, arbitrary detention, and serious risks of violence in Myanmar.
Bryony Lau, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said Malaysia should protect people who fled Myanmar rather than return them to conditions where they could face further abuse.
International law prohibits the return of any person to a country where they face a genuine risk of persecution, torture, threats to life, or other serious harm. This prohibition, known as the principle of non-refoulement, applies to Malaysia even though the country has not signed the 1951 Refugee Convention.
Human rights groups maintain that conditions for a safe, voluntary, and dignified Rohingya return do not currently exist in Myanmar, where armed conflict and widespread abuses continue.
Malaysia’s latest assurance therefore does not end concerns over the proposed transfer. Refugee advocates say the government must clarify who is being screened, allow independent assessments of individual protection needs, consult UNHCR, and ensure that no Rohingya or other refugee is returned against their will.
