By RK DESK
September 30, 2026
Malaysia has started sending nearly 1,500 Rohingya refugees back to Myanmar, despite warnings from the United Nations and human rights groups that Myanmar is still unsafe for Rohingya.
Dozens of buses carrying Rohingya arrived at a stadium near the Lumut naval base in northwestern Malaysia on Tuesday under police escort. The refugees were expected to be taken to the naval base and then transported to Myanmar by ship.
Malaysia says the returns are voluntary. However, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said it was not involved in the operation and warned that ongoing conflict and violence in Myanmar do not allow for safe and dignified returns.
“Any refugee return must be voluntary, based on an informed decision, and take place in conditions of safety and dignity,” UNHCR said.
Myanmar’s military has carried out serious violence against the Rohingya, especially during the 2017 crackdown that forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to flee to neighbouring countries.
Rohingya representatives and rights groups have also opposed the returns.
Nay San Lwin, co-chair of the Arakan Rohingya National Council (ARNC), called on Malaysia to stop sending Rohingya back until Myanmar becomes safe. He said Rohingya are still caught in the conflict between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army.
Ro Mayyu Islam, founding chair of the Center for Rohingya Crisis Studies, also said that returning Rohingya under the current conditions does not solve the crisis.
“We are not asking the world to keep us refugees. We are demanding the right to return home as equal human beings with citizenship, security, dignity and fundamental rights,” he said.
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has also urged Malaysia to stop the returns and provide information about who is being sent back and the risks they may face.
More than 160 civil society organisations have called for the repatriation to be stopped, saying Rohingya could face violence, displacement and pressure to join armed groups.
Malaysia says the returns are voluntary and that people will not be sent back if they face persecution or serious threats to their lives.
Malaysia is not a member of the 1951 Refugee Convention and does not officially recognise refugee status. The country had more than 126,000 Rohingya refugees as of February 2026.
The returns come as fighting continues in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, where many Rohingya originally lived and where the conflict between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army continues.
For the Rohingya being returned, concerns remain about their safety, citizenship, housing, jobs and access to basic rights after they arrive in Myanmar.
