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LUMUT – Dozens of buses carrying Myanmar nationals arrived under police escort at the Manjung Municipal Council Stadium near the Lumut Naval Base on Tuesday as Malaysia began the first phase of its voluntary repatriation programme.
AFP reported that reporters were not allowed into the stadium grounds as the buses arrived.
The Myanmar nationals were expected to undergo documentation procedures before being taken to the nearby naval base for transportation to Myanmar by sea.
Two Myanmar naval vessels and a hospital ship were seen docked at the port near the Lumut Naval Base on Tuesday, according to Reuters. This was in line with the Home Ministry’s Aug 27 statement that the repatriation process would use the three vessels.
The Home Ministry said 1,476 eligible Myanmar nationals had agreed to return voluntarily in the first phase of a programme involving 5,000 people.
However, it remains unclear how many ethnic Rohingya are among the first 1,476 people, as Malaysian authorities have not disclosed the figure.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) recorded 193,824 refugees and asylum-seekers from Myanmar in Malaysia as of February 2026, including 126,144 Rohingya.
More than 160 civil society organisations had urged Malaysia to halt the planned return of Rohingya, citing continuing violence, forced conscription and human rights concerns in Myanmar.
UNHCR said it was not involved in Malaysia’s repatriation programme and warned that ongoing armed conflict and violence meant Myanmar was not currently conducive to safe, dignified and sustainable voluntary returns.
UNHCR stressed that any refugee return must be voluntary, based on an informed decision and carried out in conditions of safety and dignity.
The programme followed an agreement announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in July for Myanmar to receive 5,000 people from Malaysia in stages.
Anwar said Malaysia needed Myanmar’s cooperation because the repatriation process could not proceed without its agreement to receive its citizens.
Earlier this month, Myanmar pledged that its citizens displaced abroad would be returned in a “safe and dignified” manner, following criticism from the UN and human rights groups.
Anwar also said he would invite Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing to make an official visit to Malaysia as part of efforts to expedite negotiations on the return of Myanmar refugees.
Malaysia is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and does not have a national legal framework that formally recognises refugee status.
The Home Ministry said more than 95 per cent of refugees in Malaysia are from Myanmar, including ethnic Rohingya, Chin, Karen and Mon communities, while 4,008 Myanmar nationals, mainly from the Rohingya community, are to be registered under the Refugee Registration Document Programme.
