Malaysia will legitimise coup if it deports Myanmar migrants - LFL

 

The government's decision to deport around 1,200 Myanmar nationals to their country of origin would send a signal to the world that it legitimises the military coup there, says Lawyer for Liberty (LFL).

Mahajoth Singh of LFL said the action came after the condemnation of the coup by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin and Indonesian President Joko Widodo during the former's diplomatic visit to Indonesia recently.

"If the government were to now cooperate with Myanmar's new, unconstitutional leadership, it would send a signal to not just Asean but also the world that it is prepared to parlay with and therefore legitimise the military.

"It would also make any future statements or en bloc meetings a paper tiger – big words that are ultimately ineffectual," Mahajoth said in a statement.

On Monday, Immigration director-general Khairul Dzaimee Daud clarified that the repatriation programme, scheduled on Feb 23, would not involve United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) cardholders or the Rohingya community.

He also thanked the Myanmar Embassy in Malaysia for cooperating and arranging the repatriation of their citizens.

Prior to that, Reuters reported that the Myanmar military government had offered to send three navy ships to Malaysia to pick up the 1,200 detained Myanmar nationals.

The Myanmar military, known as Tatmadaw, took over the government in a Feb 1 coup and put state de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest following allegations that the landslide election victory by Suu Kyi was marred by fraud.

Meanwhile, Mahajoth raised doubt over immigration's statement that no Rohingyas or United Nations-registered refugees will be deported.

"The government has not clarified how they have established this.

"The United Nations refugee agency has not been able to access detention centres since 2019, and so cannot determine whether these detainees would qualify as refugees," he said.

Mahajoth added that the agency has also told the media that it is currently seeking more information, and pointed out that women and children in vulnerable situations may be among those held in these centres.

He said the government would risk unknowingly violating the principle of non-refoulement if they deport the wrong group of people.

Non-refoulement, a key principle of international human rights law, prohibits the return of individuals to a country where they would face torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, or other irreparable harm.

"It is paramount that the government at the very least delay the deportation process until and unless it can provide the United Nations with access to these 1,200 people to ensure that they are indeed merely economic migrants and not vulnerable or oppressed peoples," he added. 

In a media conference today, Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Khairy Jamaluddin assured that undocumented foreign nationals would not be arrested when they come forward for Covid-19 vaccinations.

In light of the vaccination programme involving migrant workers as a priority, Mahajoth warned that following the deportation exercise, many migrant workers would avoid presenting themselves for vaccination out of fear of being nabbed.

"Given that there are at least two million undocumented migrant workers in Malaysia, it is dangerous to public health to have a group this large potentially remain unvaccinated.

"If the government is serious about addressing the pandemic holistically, it cannot run the risk of having migrant workers avoid this essential measure," he said. - Mkini