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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia on Monday (February 15) defended a plan to deport 1,200 Myanmar citizens on navy ships sent from their homeland just weeks after a coup, following criticism from the United Nations.
News emerged last week that the migrants would be sent home after the Myanmar military seized power and detained civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi in early February.
Malaysia’s immigration chief Khairul Dzaimee Daud said the detainees, who will be deported on February 23, are charged with crimes including not having valid travel documents and staying longer on their visas.
“It is part of our regular program to deport illegal immigrants detained in detention centers,” he said in a statement, adding that Malaysia sent more than 37,000 foreigners home last year.
He said there are no UN-registered refugees or members of Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslim minority among those deported.
The Rohingya, who are not recognized as citizens in Myanmar, have long suffered persecution in their homeland, mostly Buddhist, and hundreds of thousands fled the 2017 military crackdown in neighboring Bangladesh.
Malaysia is home to some 100,000 registered Rohingya refugees, as well as members of other communities such as the Chin and Kachin.
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The UN refugee agency previously said they were seeking information from authorities about the deportations.
But a spokeswoman added that they had been blocked from accessing immigration detention centers since the end of 2019, meaning they could not determine who should be granted refugee status.
Vulnerable people, including women and children, are among those detained at the facilities, he said.
“If it is determined that they need international protection, these people should not be deported to a situation where their lives or freedoms may be at risk,” the spokeswoman said.
Malaysian authorities were criticized last year for detaining undocumented immigrants in an attempt to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
Malaysia is home to millions of migrants from the poorest parts of Asia who work in low-paying jobs like construction. Besides Myanmar, they come from countries like Bangladesh and Indonesia.
