Govt urged to intervene in deportation of 114 Myanmar nationals

Amnesty International Malaysia and Asylum Access Malaysia have raised grave alarm over the decision by the Kuala Lumpur High Court to lift the stay of deportation of 114 people from Myanmar and called on the new government of Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to step in to save them from a possible death sentence.

In a joint statement, Amnesty International Malaysia executive director Katrina Jorene Maliamauv and Asylum Access Malaysia executive director Tham Hui Ying said the court’s decision demonstrates how despite international outcry, calls to halt the forcible return of people from Myanmar continue to be ignored.

"The government is determined to deport people instead of finding solutions that safeguard the rights and security of people from Myanmar and respect the Malaysian government’s human rights obligations.

"Despite today’s lifting of the stay of deportation, we strongly urge the government to reconsider its plan.

"We continue to call for our leaders to respect human rights and international law and halt any decision to send people back to a violent and dangerous situation.

"Violating this most fundamental principle of non-refoulement would reflect poorly on the new government’s respect for human rights," they said.

In February 2021, Amnesty International Malaysia and Asylum Access Malaysia filed a judicial review to challenge the deportation of 1,200 people from Myanmar back to the country.

Some 1,086 people were still deported to Myanmar despite a court order and a stay on the deportation. The 114 remaining were not deported because they tested positive for Covid-19.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court granted a stay of deportation on the remaining 114 individuals, pending the disposal of the judicial review. In May this year, the government filed an application to lift the stay.

Despite efforts to ensure that the 114 had safe and legal routes to remain in Malaysia and not be forcibly deported, the Kuala Lumpur High Court today granted the government’s application to lift the stay.

According to the non-governmental Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, the police and military have arbitrarily detained more than 15,700 people and killed at least 2,300 since a bloody military coup removed the democratically elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

"People from Myanmar should be allowed to remain safely (not detained) in Malaysia while their status is regularised, and not be forcibly returned to the country in any way while Myanmar remains in a state of unrest.

"With a new cabinet in place, the new government should end its dishonest approach of criticising the Myanmar military authorities while continuing to quietly subject people to refoulement," said the human rights activists.

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