A lawyer who fears for the fate of his client - an Acehnese refugee- said that refugees who fled their country in fear for their life must not be subjected to the Immigration Act.

Human rights lawyer Amer Hamzah Arshad said the Malaysian immigration laws defines an immigrant as someone who leaves their country to make a better living elsewhere, and this definition certainly does not depict a refugee.

"An immigrant has a choice to stay in their homeland or move to resettle in another country to improve their life. But a refugee does not have the luxury of making that choice. If they do not leave their country, they will face persecution, torture and possibly death," he told malaysiakini.