KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia began repatriating 1,476 Myanmar nationals on Tuesday under a government programme it described as voluntary, despite warnings from the UNHCR that Myanmar remains unsafe for return.
Dozens of buses under heavy police escort were seen arriving at Manjung Municipal Council Stadium near the Lumut Naval Base on Tuesday morning (Sept 29). The passengers were expected to undergo final documentation checks before being transferred to Myanmar by ship.
According to Malaysia’s Home Ministry, the returnees comprised 1,370 men, 79 women, 20 boys and seven girls, aged between eight and 60.
The repatriation forms the first phase of a broader plan to return up to 5,000 Myanmar nationals from Malaysia. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced the arrangement in June, mentioning that Myanmar agreed to receive the returnees. A total of 10,388 Myanmar nationals were being held at immigration detention facilities across Malaysia as of Aug. 15, according to the Home Ministry.
More than 160 civil society organisations have separately urged Malaysia to halt the repatriation programme through a joint statement last Wednesday (Sept 23), citing concerns of violence, persecution and forced conscription in Myanmar.
Malaysia hosts over 200,000 refugees and asylum-seekers registered with UNHCR, including 193,824 people from Myanmar as of February 2026, ranking second largest host country in the world for refugees, and the largest in Southeast Asia.
