Human rights groups want govt to hold off deporting 114 Myanmar refugees

PETALING JAYA: Human rights groups have urged the government to reconsider deporting 114 Myanmar refugees after a Kuala Lumpur High Court decision to lift the stay on repatriating them.

Amnesty International Malaysia executive director Katrina Maliamauv and Asylum Access Malaysia executive director Tham Hui Ying said in a joint statement that the decision did not heed the international outcry and calls to halt the forcible return of the Myanmar nationals to their home country.

“The government is determined to deport people instead of finding solutions that safeguard the rights and security of people from Myanmar and respect its (the government's) human rights obligations.

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“Despite today’s (Tuesday, Dec 13) lifting of the stay of deportation, we strongly urge the government to reconsider,” the statement read.

It added that the Myanmar nationals involved should be allowed to remain safely in Malaysia while their status was regularised.

“With a new Cabinet in place, the government should end its approach of criticising the Myanmar military authorities while continuing to quietly subject people to (forcible return),” they said.

In February last year, the two groups filed a judicial review to challenge the deportation of 1,200 refugees from Myanmar back to their home country.

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Despite a court order and a stay on deportation, 1,086 people were still sent back to Myanmar while 114 remained because they tested positive for Covid-19.

The High Court then granted a stay on their deportation pending disposal of the judicial review.

In May this year, the government filed an application to lift the stay, which the court granted on Tuesday.