THE High Court in Kuala Lumpur today set aside an interim stay on the Malaysian government from repatriating 114 Myanmar refugees to their country of origin.

Judge Ahmad Kamal Md Shahid made the ruling after allowing the application of the Malaysian government, the Immigration director-general and the Minister of Home Affairs as respondents to set aside the stay.

Lawyers acting on behalf of parties concerned confirmed the order.

The three respondents filed the application on May 12 on the grounds that the Myanmar detainees had repeatedly expressed a desire to be allowed to return to their country.

The interim stay was previously issued by Judge Mariana Yahya (now Court of Appeal Judge) on February 24 2021, which prohibited the Malaysian government from deporting the immigrants to their country of origin until March 9 2021.

On March 9, civil society groups Asylum Access Berhad and Aimal Sdn Bhd obtained a judicial review to challenge the repatriation of 1,200 Myanmar refugees.

The groups claimed that if the refugees were sent back to Myanmar, their lives would be threatened.

In a media statement on February 23, 2021, Immigration director-general Khairul Dzaimee Daud said a total of 1,086 illegal immigrants from Myanmar, who were detained at Immigration detention centres across the country, were sent home by the Royal Malaysian Navy. – Bernama, December 13, 2022.