Even with registration document, refugees remain at risk

Malaysia’s ‘Madani’ (compassionate) government must be applauded, as Malaysia finally started its own asylum seeker and refugee assessment and recognition programme on 1 January with the Refugee Registration Document (DPP) programme.

However, it is shocking that “until June 2026, 128 Myanmar nationals of Rohingya ethnicity, comprising 127 adult men and one adult woman, were transferred to PPKPPS (Special Detention Centre for Refugees and Asylum Seekers) Bidor, Perak… Following the status determination process, 78 individuals comprising 77 men and one woman have been approved as refugees under the Refugee Registration Document (DPP) programme. The release process will only be carried out after all related procedures have been completed,” he [Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail] said.

The registration process must be expedited.

Need for legal recognition

Malaysia is home to more than 215,000 asylum seekers and refugees (not including those still being processed for recognition).

But until the Immigration Act is amended or new laws are enacted, the position remains unchanged. Malaysia’s present Immigration Act treats foreigners as undocumented individuals or ‘illegal immigrants’ unless they possess valid work permits, passes or visas recognised by law that allow them to be in Malaysia temporarily.

If they are undocumented, they are at risk of arrest, detention and being charged in court for illegally being in Malaysia, which, on conviction, makes them liable to a fine not exceeding RM10,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to both. They shall also be liable to whipping of not more than six strokes (Section 6(3), Immigration Act 1959/63).

Sadly, to date the possession of DPP passes or cards has not yet been incorporated in law. Thus, there is a risk that asylum seekers and refugees, even with DPP passes or cards, would still be considered law breakers present illegally in Malaysia.

“According to Prisons Department records, 47,914 foreigners were found to have violated the Immigration Act from 2002 to 2008. Of these, 34,923 were caned or whipped.”

No recent data has been found, and one wonders how many genuine asylum seekers and refugees were also whipped in Malaysia – and may still continue to be imprisoned and whipped, unless laws are speedily amended or enacted to recognise asylum seekers and refugees as people with the right to temporarily be in Malaysia.

Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet) urges Malaysia to speedily amend the Immigration Act to recognise the DPP as a valid pass or proof of legal presence in Malaysia. We certainly do not want any more asylum seekers and refugees to be arrested, detained or charged for illegally being in Malaysia.

As the process of registration may take time, Madpet also asks that those asylum seekers who plan to apply or have submitted their application for registration also be accorded protection.

Expedite DPP registration

Noting that in six months, Malaysia has only managed to process and give DPPs to just 78 individuals, Madpet urges that the process be expedited in the interest of justice. There may be over 200,000 asylum seekers and refugees in Malaysia.

Madpet calls upon Malaysia to enact a refugee and asylum seeker law that will also provide legal recognition for the DPP programme.

No repatriation

Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said the programme will ultimately lead to only three possible outcomes: repatriation, third-country resettlement, or deportation for legal offenders.

There are only three possible outcomes in managing refugees and asylum seekers.

“First, repatriation, which means sending them home once their country is safe and permits their return. Even if they are registered under the DPP, it does not mean they will remain here indefinitely.

“Second, resettlement in a third country. International agencies such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) must continue fulfilling that role. The UNHCR exists to register refugees and secure third-country placements.

“Third, deportation for those who violate laws and regulations. If they commit crimes and all due legal processes, convictions and appeals have been exhausted, they will be deported,” he said.

Madpet applauds Malaysia’s commitment not to send asylum seekers and refugees home until their country is safe and permits their return. This is consistent with the principle of non-refoulement.

The principle of non-refoulement forms an essential protection under international human rights, refugee, humanitarian and customary law.

It prohibits states from transferring or removing individuals from their jurisdiction or effective control when there are substantial grounds for believing that the person would be at risk of irreparable harm upon return, including persecution, torture, ill-treatment or other serious human rights violations.

Employment?

In the past, the UN, through the UN refugee agency, undertook to bear the cost of accommodation and upkeep of these asylum seekers and refugees until they were settled in a third country.

Now that burden falls on the nation state accepting refugees, or directly on the asylum seekers and refugees themselves, who are expected to find their own food and shelter.

Housing and feeding some 200,000-plus refugees and asylum seekers in special detention centre for refugees and asylum seekers may be impossible at the moment. So it is best to consider employment for refugees so that they can earn and fend for themselves while living outside places of detention.

Thus, it was good to note that Malaysia is considering this – “…he [Home Minister Saifuddin] added that the programme also explored the possibility of matching approved refugees and asylum seekers with employers facing labour shortages in sectors such as manufacturing, plantations, agriculture and construction.”

Madpet proposes that Malaysia prioritise the use of asylum seekers and refugees already in Malaysia to meet labour needs before resorting to bringing in migrant workers from other countries. There were 2,132,578 active and legally employed foreign workers as of 15 October 2025.

Refugee children need schooling

As of early 2026, there were about 215,600 registered refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia, according to the UN refugee agency, though women and children still account for more than half of the total population.

Roughly 28,600 children fall into the primary or secondary school-going age brackets. There may be even more, among those who have not yet been registered by the UN refugee agency.

Madpet calls on Malaysia to allow all these asylum seeker and refugee children to continue their studies in Malaysian public schools or other schools as the government deems appropriate. A child’s future is at risk if he or she cannot receive or continue an education.

A refugee has been defined as someone who has fled their country of nationality and is unable or unwilling to return due to a well-founded fear of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, political opinion, or membership of a particular social group.

But to Malaysians, they are just human beings who need our temporary assistance. Their children should never lose out on the basic right to study in schools, more so since Malaysia has ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The speedy assessment and determination of asylum seeker or refugee status is crucial to prevent Malaysia from unknowingly further persecuting these persons, who have sought our temporary help – hence the importance of providing legal protection for asylum seekers and refugees through laws. Temporary policies not recognised in law simply will not do.

Charles Hector issued this statement on behalf of Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (Madpet).

Support our work by making a donation. Tap to download the QR code below and scan this QR code from Gallery by using TnG e-wallet or most banking apps: