In limbo: Many refugees in Malaysia had hoped they would be resettled but are now devastated by the continued uncertainty due to the suspension of the US’ refugee resettlement programme. — AFP
WITH President Donald Trump’s suspension of the United States’ refugee resettlement programme in late January, the hopes of many refugees in Malaysia awaiting resettlement have been left hanging by a thread.
“They had hoped for resettlement to build their new lives, but unfortunately, this thing happened so they are almost at the end of their rope,” a Kachin community leader, who asked to stay anonymous for safety reasons, tells Sunday Star.
“I cannot even imagine how difficult it would be to create new hope just to continue for these three or four years.
“The most affected are those who already received their departure dates or those rejected at US airports.”
He shares that he had already gone through his first pre-screening interview for his resettlement in the US, but with the new orders, he will have to wait for at least another four years before the opportunity will arise again.
“Even though I may not be resettled this year, maybe after the Trump administration, I might be considered for resettlement to the US if there is a new president,” says the 41-year-old, who arrived in Malaysia as a refugee from Myanmar in 2010.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that more than 2.4 million refugees worldwide were awaiting resettlement in 2024, a 20% increase from the year before.
In Malaysia alone there are about 192,240 refugees and asylum seekers registered with the UNHCR as of December 2024, with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) Malaysia having resettled 8,627 refugees last year.
According to IOM Malaysia’s data, about 70% of those cases were resettled in the US.
“Historically, the US has been one of the largest resettlement destinations for refugees from Malaysia, particularly for groups like the Rohingya and Chin, who are persecuted in Myanmar,” says Assoc Prof Dr Mashitah Hamidi, the head of Universiti Malaya’s Department of Social Administration and Justice.
“Trump’s restrictive refugee policies have worsened the situation for refugees in Malaysia by reducing legal pathways for resettlement, increasing uncertainty, and leaving Malaysia with a greater burden.”
This has led to some posing the question: Can we too “do a Trump” and deport the refugees back to their “home country”?
‘Can’t do a Trump’
Only a small percentage of refugees are able to return with safety and dignity to their home country, says Debbie Stothard, coordinator of regional human rights group Alternative Asean Network on Burma.
There is also the principle of non-refoulement that Malaysia is under obligation to uphold as a member of the United Nations.
As set forth in the UN’s Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the non-refoulement principle prohibits countries from returning a person to a country where he/she would face a serious risk of persecution, torture, or other cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment.
According to human rights lawyer Andrew Khoo, this principle is considered a customary international law.
“Meaning to say that it is deemed accepted internationally and should be followed by all countries,” he says.
With these options not viable, what then can Malaysia do to deal with the large community of refugees still here?
Look to existing solutions
The UNHCR says it is aware of these “potential measures” under consideration by the new US administration but is not in a position to comment at this stage.
However, the UN agency has consistently advocated for the rights and safety of refugees living in Malaysia, including through its cooperation with both governmental and non-governmental stakeholders in providing humanitarian support for refugees through legal access, education, and healthcare.
For instance, at the 4th ASB-UNHCR Research Workshop on Refugee Studies and Forced Displacement last year, then UNHCR Representative in Malaysia Thomas Albrecht had stressed the importance of finding ways to help refugees rebuild their lives temporarily in this country until such time that a long-term solution can be found for them.
“For the majority of refugees, voluntary return home is a difficult and distant future to hope for,” he had said at the workshop’s opening ceremony which also marked the 2024 World Refugee Day on June 20.
“More than anything, most refugees’ greatest wish is to return home. But in a world short on peace, the next best thing is the chance to regain control of their lives.
“The chance for opportunities, not handouts. The chance to be self-reliant and use their talents and passions for the communities hosting them,” Albrecht said.
As he expounded in his welcome speech at the workshop, “Being a refugee is a circumstance – it is not who a person is.
“Refugees need opportunities to be active members of the communities that have welcomed them, whether through work, school, sports, or other activities.
“They need the chance to learn and progress, to earn a living, and to feel a sense of belonging.”
The reality is that less than 1% of refugees are resettled globally, national director of NGO Young Lives Malaysia, Douglas Teoh points out.
Concurring, the Kachin community leader recounts that fewer than 50 cases from his community have been successfully resettled from Malaysia since 2013 up to last year.
With such low numbers of resettlement even before Trump’s decision, Stothard says it is time to focus instead on oft-discussed potential solutions in addressing the situation of refugees in Malaysia.
“So I think instead of looking at how the Malaysian government and NGOs can try to fulfil these gaps and setbacks because of Trump, we should actually be pushing forward on the solutions which have already been discussed.
“Namely, giving refugees the right to work to take care of themselves, and also giving refugee children the right to access the education system so they can get the education and training needed to continue to be part of Malaysian society and continue contributing to Malaysian society,” says Stothard, a Malaysian who has been working on Burma human rights since 1988.
Providing refugees with these rights would be a win-win situation, she says, as Malaysian companies have long urged the government to allow them to employ refugees.
“Just last month at a round-table on Malaysia’s priorities as Asean chair on human rights hosted in Putrajaya by the Foreign Ministry, there were at least two large Malaysian corporations who spoke up, urging Malaysia to legalise the employment of refugees because many employers – including in plantation and manufacturing sectors – need workers, and they recognise that refugees are an important human resource.
“So it seems illogical to criminalise refugees and asylum seekers and prevent them from working when this would be the most logical and practical solution in the mid and short term,” Stothard says.
Perfect time to lobby
Malaysia is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, meaning it does not grant legal status or work rights to refugees.
As a result, many refugees in Malaysia depend on UNHCR resettlement programmes as their only path to permanence.
Without this option, thousands will remain without rights, trapped in a cycle of poverty and insecurity, says Assoc Prof Dr Mashitah.
Malaysia will also face a greater burden on its resources with fewer refugees leaving the country for resettlement, she adds.
“The UNHCR in Malaysia is already struggling to support over 185,000 registered refugees, largely from Myanmar.
“The reduced intake from the US adds further strain to an already overwhelmed system.
“The lack of long-term solutions may worsen humanitarian conditions, particularly in urban refugee settlements.
“One potential solution is for Malaysia to introduce a national refugee policy that grants limited rights while maintaining its non-signatory status to the 1951 Refugee Convention.
“This policy could enable the implementation of a formal work programme for refugees,” says the associate professor of migration studies.
The executive orders signed by Trump does not only affect resettlement directly, but also a lot of other work related to refugees, says Teoh.
“The trouble is that the executive orders Trump has signed include freezing US Agency for International Development operations and a lot of this money also goes into refugee work.
“There are local NGOs doing necessary and high-impact work with refugees who are at risk of having to downsize and even close down due to this freeze.
“It is also important to note that due to xenophobia, it has not been easy to obtain local funding and that’s why community-based organisations and NGOs continue to rely on external funding,” Teoh says.
Many needs will be unmet and many more will slip through the cracks as a result of this decision, he predicts.
The one bright light so far is that the Malaysian government has become more willing to engage in refugee policy conversations, which Teoh believes is due to Malaysia chairing Asean this year.
“So NGOs have to take the opportunity to lobby throughout 2025,” he adds.
The ASEAN Research Center at the Asia School of Business is now calling for papers on any topics pertaining to refugees and issues of forced displacement to be presented at the ARC-UNHCR Conference on Refugee Studies and Forced Displacement 2025. For details, go to https://sites.google.com/view/refcon2025/call-for-proposals
