Govt to ensure orderly, lawful Myanmar refugee repatriation, says Fahmi

 Malaysia began the first phase of a repatriation programme involving about 1,500 Myanmar nationals on Sept 29.

Communications minister Fahmi Fadzil and Suhakam chairman Hishamudin Yunus during their meeting today to exchange views and obtain feedback on refugee management issues. (Facebook pic)

KUALA LUMPUR:

Any repatriation of Myanmar refugees to their home country will be carried out in an orderly, responsible and lawful manner, said communications minister Fahmi Fadzil.

Fahmi said the matter was among those discussed during his meeting with the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) today to exchange views and obtain feedback on refugee management issues.

“Among the matters discussed was the repatriation of Myanmar refugees to their home country, including implementation procedures and the security aspects, as well as humanitarian matters that Suhakam requested to be given attention.

“Meetings like this are important to enable the government to listen to the views of all parties, especially from a humanitarian perspective, when handling refugee issues,” he said in a Facebook post.

Fahmi thanked Suhakam chairman Hishamudin Yunus and his team for receiving him and his delegation during the meeting.

On Sept 29, Malaysia began the first phase of a repatriation programme involving about 1,500 Myanmar nationals, part of the 5,000 individuals the government said had agreed to return voluntarily from detention centres. - FMT