Malaysia starts sending Myanmar migrants home
Dozens of buses arrived under police escort at the Majlis Perbandaran Manjung stadium near the Lumut naval base in northwestern Malaysia. The migrants were expected to be processed before being taken to Myanmar by ship.
Malaysia has commenced repatriating approximately 1,500 Myanmar nationals who have agreed to voluntary return from detention centers, marking the start of a larger program involving 5,000 individuals. The first batch of migrants was transported to the Lumut naval base via buses escorted by police, where they will undergo processing before being shipped back to Myanmar.
Rights groups have expressed concerns over the repatriation, especially considering the Rohingya, who constitute two-thirds of the 190,000 Rohingya refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia. Despite this, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced the repatriation plan in July, citing the need for public fatigue over refugee issues and domestic political reasons.
The initiative comes after Myanmar pledged to facilitate safe and dignified returns for its citizens abroad, following criticism from the UN and rights groups.
Brief written by urgent.news from Channel News Asia's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
Also reported by 3 other outlets
- Malaysia mula hantar pulang pelarian Myanmar freemalaysiatoday.com
- Malaysia starts sending Myanmar migrants home thejakartapost.com
- Malaysia launches first phase of Rohingya repatriation to Myanmar malaymail.com
