Malaysia to invite Myanmar leader over Rohingya repatriation push

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Wednesday (Sep 16) he will invite Myanmar's coup leader turned civilian president Min Aung Hlaing for an official visit in a bid to expedite the repatriation of Rohingya refugees.

Anwar announced in July that Myanmar had agreed to take back 5,000 members of the persecuted Rohingya minority, in a rare repatriation push that has prompted concern from rights groups.

Malaysia hosts more than 215,000 refugees and asylum seekers registered with the UN refugee agency, including more than 126,000 Rohingya from Myanmar, its largest refugee community.

Both countries say a first wave of nearly 1,500 Myanmar nationals will be repatriated voluntarily in late September, although it is unclear how many Rohingya will be included.

Anwar said the diplomatic move was aimed at finding a solution to the Rohingya refugee issue, which has fuelled growing concern among locals.

"So two weeks ago, I told the Home Ministry and cabinet ministers that I would invite the Myanmar president to make an official visit to Malaysia," the premier said during a podcast interview on Wednesday.

"Why did I invite him? I invited him because I want to tell him that we can be friends and trade. We can accept Myanmar, but they must accept (its refugees) back," he added.

He said the repatriation could be carried out in stages if Myanmar was unable to receive all 200,000 refugees at once.

The repatriation plan was announced after Malaysian authorities detained more than 100 Rohingya who had gathered outside the UN refugee agency's office in Kuala Lumpur.

The refugees were being threatened with eviction from an informal settlement in northern Penang state.

They were later released after officials confirmed they held valid UN documentation.

Myanmar earlier this month pledged "safe and dignified" returns for its citizens displaced abroad, after the United Nations and rights groups raised concerns about the upcoming repatriation of 1,500 people from Malaysia.

Malaysia, which shelters one of Southeast Asia's biggest refugee populations, is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention and does not formally recognise refugee status.

AFP fact-checkers have found that Rohingya refugees in Malaysia have been targeted by online disinformation campaigns that rights advocates say are fuelling xenophobia and intimidation.

Many of the Rohingya, a mostly Muslim group, escaped Myanmar during a brutal military crackdown in 2017.