Malaysia to return 1,500 Rohingya refugees next month, despite safety fears

First phase of Malaysia’s repatriation plan will involve Myanmar nationals who are ‘willing to return voluntarily’. Malaysia has finalised the first phase of a voluntary repatriation programme that will see at least 1,500 eligible Myanmar refugees return home on September 29, the government said.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced in July that Myanmar’s military-backed government had agreed to take back 5,000 members of the persecuted Rohingya minority amid rising tensions with local communities in Malaysia. Malaysia detains more than 100 Rohingya seeking help from the UN Malaysian foreign minister calls for review of UNHCR’s presence Malaysia vows not to return Myanmar refugees if lives at risk “The repatriation process will use two Myanmar naval warships and a hospital ship,” according to a Malaysia Home Ministry statement. It said more than 4,000 individuals, primarily of ethnic Rohingya, will be channelled into the Refugee Registration Document (DPP) programme, while 5,000 others will undergo the voluntary repatriation process, as agreed with Myanmar.

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