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ON Tuesday, February 23, immigration and security authorities deported from Lumut, Perak, 1,086 Myanmar nationals on three Myanmar navy ships.
This action was taken in defiance of a Kuala Lumpur High Court order to stay the deportations until the court could hear the case of activists and others opposing the move. In an act of bold disobedience against the court decision, the deportations went on.
A number of issues arises.
Firstly, is the action of the Immigration Department and others involved in the deportations not in serious contempt of court? Should they not be required to explain their defiance? I believe that we still adhere to the rule of law, and the courts play a pivotal role in this regard.
The government owes Malaysians and the international community an explanation on this bold disobedience by the department. Punitive action should also be taken against those involved, so that such defiance does not recur in the future. This transgression has already sullied Malaysia’s name worldwide.
Secondly, there is ambiguity on the Myanmar nationals that Malaysia deported. Are they all illegal immigrants, as the authorities claim? If yes, then they rightfully ought to be deported. The question then arises – why were they not extradited much earlier? Surely, 1,086 is an enormous figure.
Were there any refugees and genuine asylum seekers in this batch? Who screened them? Normally, such screening is done by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). But, UNHCR claimed that it has been denied access to Myanmar nationals living in Malaysia since 2019. So, how do we know for sure that the department did not send back Myanmar nationals fleeing persecution in their own country? Such individuals would clearly qualify as refugees.
The timing of the deportations – when Myanmar is in the throes of a cruel coup – makes us look just as cruel and inhumane.
Given the varying interpretations attributed to Malaysia’s action, a proper clarification and explanation regarding the individuals deported are highly warranted. This may help assuage some international concerns about the plight of these people.
Malaysia is not a signatory to the UN’s 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol. Notwithstanding this, we have, in the past, on humanitarian grounds, assisted and worked in partnership with UNHCR to provide temporary refuge to immigrants and asylum seekers until they find a new home in a resettlement country. We also assisted some 250,000 Vietnamese boat people post-1975 to temporarily stay in Malaysia until they left for a third country.
I am sure Malaysia would like to keep its good track record earned over the years. Many of our neighbours cannot claim the level of humanitarianism that our country has displayed. – The Vibes, February 28, 2021
Datuk N. Parameswaran, a diplomat for 40 years, was Malaysian ambassador to Vietnam (1990-1993) and high commissioner to Singapore (2003- 2008). He handled the Vietnamese boat people’s refugee issues when stationed in Geneva (1986-1989), and East Timor refugee repatriations from West Timor in Indonesia when he was seconded as UN Transitional Administration in East Timor chief of staff (2000-2001)