PUTRAJAYA must stop deporting refugees back to their countries of origin if they face reprisal from their governments, said Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam).

Its commissioner, Jerald Joseph, told a virtual press conference today that Putrajaya’s action to deport refugees back to their countries in previous cases is unethical.

“They ran away to escape a crisis and violence. We cannot send them back if we know that they are going to face harsh punishment,” he said.

“A person comes to another country as an asylum seeker because of the horrible conditions in his or her home country. They flee because of fear of persecution and fear for their lives.

“We should not send them back as it is against the principle of non-refoulement.”

Last February, Malaysia deported more than 1,000 Myanmar nationals back to their home country despite a court order to halt their deportation.

According to news reports, 1,086 Myanmar citizens were sent back on three navy ships despatched by the country’s military, which seized power in a February 1 coup.

At least six Rohingya Muslims or refugees registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) were among the deportees.

Joseph said there are currently more than 1,000 Rohingyas in the country’s immigration detention centres.

It is learnt that the Immigration Department has also barred UNHCR from conducting checks on the refugees.

“Why do we keep them in detention centres when they do not have anywhere to go? This is a form of punishment. They should not be in detention for so long. They didn’t commit anything wrong,” he said.

“Currently, there are more than 1,000 Rohingyas in the immigration detention centres. We cannot send them to Cox’s Bazar because it is in Bangladesh.”

Malaysia is not party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and does not have an asylum system regulating the status and rights of refugees.

According to UNHCR, Malaysia is home to more than 154,000 asylum seekers from Myanmar. – May 20, 2021.