DURING a meeting with Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing, whom Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim had invited for an official visit three weeks ago, Anwar raised the plight of Myanmar refugees in Malaysia and the prospects for their voluntary, safe, and dignified return, regardless of ethnicity.
“Meanwhile, the refugee issue has continued to worsen over the decades causing growing concern among Malaysians,” Anwar said in a Facebook posting.
As of August, there are 225,740 refugees and asylum-seekers registered with UN refugee agency UNHCR in Malaysia.
About 90% are from Myanmar, including the Rohingya and other ethnic groups who fled conflict, violence, and persecution. The remaining numbers comprise refugees and asylum- seekers from countries such as Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia, and Yemen.
Just before President Min Aung Hlaing arrived, Malaysia sent back 1,476 Myanmar nationals, the first phase of repatriating 5,000.
In recent months, the Rohin-gya issue has caused concern and extreme anger among Malaysians due to growing competition over economic opportunities and living space following an increase in their numbers.
That meeting in Putrajaya was not the first between Anwar and Min Aung Hlaing. They met in Bangkok in April last year when Malaysia was the Asean Chair.
Anwar also met with representatives of the National Unity Government, Myanmar’s shadow government that was formed in the wake of the 2021 military coup, during the Bangkok visit in efforts to achieve a ceasefire in the ongoing civil war following devastating quakes that hit the country in March 2025.
Anwar’s recent invitation to Min Aung Hlaing raises the question of Malaysia recognising a government formed after a coup ousted a democratically elected government. After the February 2021 coup d’etat, Asean countries adopted a five-point consensus (5PC) to deal with Myanmar; among other things, it calls for an immediate end to violence, dialogue among all parties to seek a peaceful solution, and allowing humanitarian assistance through.
The situation in Myanmar remains fluid to this day and it has yet to fulfil its end of the bargain despite agreeing to adopt the 5PC at the special Asean summit in 2021 in Jakarta following the coup.
“Whether you like it or not, the official visit is as good as a de facto recognition of this government led by Min Aung Hlaing.
“We can’t say we do not recognise him when we laid out the red carpet. We invited him as the president of the government. It is by default a recognition,” said an observer.
But in Parliament recently, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan maintained that such an engagement did not amount to recognition of Myan-mar’s current government, but was intended to secure practical solutions to a crisis that had extended beyond Myanmar’s borders.
“The visit was to resolve this crisis,” he said, referring to the Rohingya refugee issue. It was “not an act to legitimise its government”.
“Whether we recognise Myanmar’s current government or not, that is a different matter,” he said.
An official said that as far as Malaysia is concerned, it will stick to the Asean 5PC even if bilateral meetings between two leaders had taken place.
The bigger question is: Will Min Aung Hlaing’s government accept all Myanmar nationals returning from Malaysia?
This is a long battle that will not be resolved anytime soon, especially regarding the repatriation of the Rohingya Muslims who came from Myanmar’s Rakhine State. It is widely known that Myanmar does not recognise the Rohingya as citizens.
“Putrajaya told the president himself to take back their citizens but he said they are willing to take all ethnicities except the Rohingya,” said an official, referring to last month’s meeting between the two leaders.
“We cannot send back refugees. Under the Geneva Con-vention, we have a moral obligation towards refugees. Moreover, they have UNHCR cards,” he added.
As the Malaysian government works toward repatriating more Myanmar nationals, the Home Ministry announced that conditional employment opportunities under the Refugee Registration Document programme have been offered to eligible refugees who were already in Malaysia before Jan 1, 2023.
The ministry stressed that the programme is not a pathway for refugees to settle permanently in Malaysia, obtain permanent resident status, or acquire Malaysian citizenship. Does this mean the Rohingya will be legally allowed to work?
Meanwhile, officials feel there is a need to engage the present Myanmar government on issues of interest to Malaysia.
“If we don’t engage it, who else do we talk to? What other effective ways to engage another country?
“In diplomacy there are ways to engage, and on this repatriation issue, it shows the Malaysian government’s sincere effort to find a solution.
“Myanmar is still a member of Asean, it has not left the group, so why not [engage it],” said an official.
Malaysia’s objective is to engage Myanmar without sacrificing Malaysia’s principles, and to do things in the best way possible.
“If we further isolate Myan-mar, we won’t be able to express our stance and views to its government,” said an official.
It is a step by step process in resolving a problem that has been festering for decades.
