PETALING JAYA: Human rights activists are urging the government to better protect the rights of refugees in Malaysia as they are only seeking basic needs such as healthcare and education.
Refugee rights activist and Beyond Borders Malaysia founder Mahi Ramakrishna said she is glad that the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Malaysia is not shutting down, as the UN has an international mandate to protect the rights of asylum seekers and refugees.
UNHCR in Malaysia has been hosting approximately 200,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, primarily Rohingyas from Myanmar.
Mahi said obstacles preventing UNHCR from aiding refugees must be removed, including repeated threats of shutting it down.
“No government can deport refugees to a place where they are likely to face persecution as we are bound by the ‘non-refoulment’ principle under international human rights, refugee, humanitarian and customary law.”
She added that Article 33(1) of the UN 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol states “No contracting state shall expel or return a refugee in any manner whatsoever to the frontiers of territories where his/her life or freedom would be threatened on account of his/her race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion”.
Mahi said it is common for refugees to be seen as a threat to the host nation and its people, adding that: “They are in political limbo. I hope the government would ensure the rights of refugees are protected.
“They don’t have access to affordable medical care or even a structured education for their children,” she said, while expressing hope that the dire situation faced by refugees will come to an end.
North-South Initiative executive director and co-founder Adrian Pereira said if the UNHCR office were to close, refugees and asylum seekers would lose the only institution they can rely on, which would also lead to a loss of other services such as legal protection, education and health.
“The government allows refugees to use public healthcare facilities and gives them the right to work. Unfortunately, the right to work does not come with any guaranteed protection by the relevant labour institutions such as the Labour Department,” he said.
The government has also removed healthcare subsidies for migrant workers, resulting in the cost of admission and treatment for non-citizens increasing and becoming unaffordable for many refugees and asylum seekers.
“There is neither any assistance nor budget allocated for refugees and asylum seekers. Therefore, we find many community members falling sick and even dying, and
this includes newborns with diseases and health problems.”
Pereira said another problem is the arbitrary arrest and detention of refugees and asylum seekers. Refugees who have the right documentation and papers are being detained by the authorities.
He also claimed cases of refugees or asylum seekers falsely accused of crimes and imprisoned have increased.
“We must ensure everyone is equal in the eyes of the law, as guaranteed by Article 8 of the Federal Constitution,” he said, when calling on the authorities to look into the plight of the refugees and asylum seekers.
