Detention of Rohingya refugees tests Malaysia’s protection record

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (MNTV) — The detention of more than 100 Rohingya refugees outside the UN refugee agency’s office in Kuala Lumpur has intensified criticism of Malaysia’s refugee policies, with rights groups accusing the government of putting immigration enforcement ahead of protection, according to a report by Impact Policies.

The Rohingya are a persecuted, mostly Muslim minority who have fled Myanmar in large numbers.

The arrests followed the displacement of hundreds of Rohingya from an informal settlement in Kuala Muda, in Penang state, on July 26 after local residents demanded they leave.

About 500 traveled overnight to the UN agency’s office seeking help; on July 27 police detained 110, including women and children, saying the area was unsuitable for shelter. Authorities later confirmed those held carried valid UN refugee documents, and released 109 two days later, relocating them with the agency’s help.

Malaysia hosts one of Southeast Asia’s largest refugee populations — more than 215,000 registered people, including over 126,000 Rohingya — but is not party to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, so refugees are treated as undocumented migrants under domestic law and remain vulnerable to arrest despite UN documentation.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim defended the response, ordering “firm action” to maintain order. Amnesty International Malaysia said the country “cannot build a credible refugee protection system while simultaneously treating refugees as people to be rounded up.”

The episode comes as the government rolls out a national refugee-registration system meant to shift that role from the UN to Malaysian authorities — a change Human Rights Watch warns could expand surveillance without adequate safeguards.