U.S. Committee for Refugees World Refugee Survey 1999 - Malaysia

At the end of 1998, Malaysia hosted more than 50,000 refugees and asylum seekers. These included 45,000 Filipino Muslims, an estimated 5,100 ethnic Rohingya from Burma, and 500 refugees and asylum seekers of other nationalities, mostly Indonesian Acehnese. In addition, an unknown number of Acehnese lived in Malaysia in refugee-like circumstances.

Like most other Southeast Asian nations, Malaysia is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention and has no system for adjudicating asylum claims. It does, however, permit the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to operate in the country and, until 1998, had generally respected UNHCR grants of mandate refugee status.

Asylum Seekers from Indonesia

An unknown number of Indonesians from the province of Aceh were in refugee-like circumstances in Malaysia at the end of 1998. Acehnese groups estimated that 3,500 Acehnese who had fled persecution were in Malaysia as of mid-1998. However, only a small percentage had come forward with requests for asylum. Although UNHCR had recognized some as refugees (granting them "mandate" refugee status), it denied most Acehnese claims.

Aceh is located on the northern tip of the Indonesian island of Sumatra. For more than 120 years, the Acehnese have sought independence, first from Dutch colonizers and later from Indonesia, which obtained the territory in 1949 in what the Acehnese regard as an illegal transaction. In 1976, Aceh Merdeka ("Free Aceh") was formed as an armed resistance group.

Malaysia publicly regards all undocumented Indonesians, including Acehnese, as economic migrants. For a time, however, Malaysia refrained from deporting Acehnese without legal status, perhaps in recognition of their fears of persecution. Things changed in 1997 when, with the growing economic crisis in Asia, Malaysia began a vigorous campaign of deporting illegal workers, primarily Indonesians. In 1998, the deportation campaign included Acehnese.

On March 26, 1998, Malaysia forcibly deported 545 Acehnese who had been in four detention centers (Semenyih, Macap Umboo, Linggeng, and Juru), some for as long as three years. This was the first known forcible return of Acehnese, although Malaysia had regularly deported other Indonesians. During this mass deportation, riots in three of the centers resulted in the deaths of at least eight Acehnese and a Malaysian policeman. Aceh Merdeka said that at least 39 Acehnese died in the initial violence and that others died later – at Malaysian hospitals, on board the Indonesian naval warship en route to Aceh, or in the Indonesian army detention camp to which they were returned.

At least one Acehnese with UNHCR mandate refugee status was among those forcibly returned in March. In addition, several Acehnese with legal temporary or permanent resident status in Malaysia may have been among the deportees. Malaysian authorities appear to have decided that all Acehnese were subject to forcible return along with other Indonesians, regardless of their fears of persecution or their legal status.

During the riots, an unknown number of Acehnese escaped from the detention centers (press reports put the number at between 100 and 247). Four days later, on March 30, 14 of the escapees drove a truck through the gate of the UNHCR compound and asked for protection. UNHCR permitted them to remain while it determined their status. On April 10, 35 Acehnese broke into the U.S., Swiss, French, and Brunei diplomatic compounds and requested asylum. The Acehnese reportedly used force to execute the break-ins, even injuring a U.S. security officer. All but the U.S. embassy handed them over to Malaysian authorities, citing the Acehnese's use of force in breaking into the compounds. Human rights activists condemned the three other embassies for allowing the Malaysian police to enter their compounds.

The U.S. ambassador immediately asked Malaysia to increase security around the embassy; nevertheless, the embassy permitted the Acehnese (eight persons) to remain at the compound.

In the aftermath, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad said his government would not back away from deporting the Acehnese. Foreign Minister Abdullah Admad told reporters he did not see how UNHCR could be involved in the matter, since the Indonesian influx resulted from economic factors.

USCR conducted a site visit to Malaysia in late April 1998 to assess the situation of Acehnese asylum seekers. While there, USCR issued a press statement calling on the government of Malaysia to refrain from detaining and deporting Acehnese asylum seekers and to allow them access to UNHCR.

In June, UNHCR announced that it had determined the 14 Acehnese at its compound and the eight at the U.S. embassy to be refugees in need of international protection, and it began seeking third-country resettlement on their behalf. The United States subsequently agreed to resettle about half of the Acehnese referred by UNHCR. Malaysia agreed to facilitate the resettlement of the 22 but offered no guarantees that other Acehnese, including others whom UNHCR found to be refugees, would not be forcibly returned.

In August and September, Malaysia deported some of the Acehnese who had sought asylum in the Swiss, French, and Brunei diplomatic compounds. UNHCR had attempted to gain access to them, and to other Acehnese in detention, but had been refused by Malaysian authorities. In November, Malaysia deported another Acehnese with UNHCR mandate refugee status, along with 35 re-arrested escapees from the March deportation and the remaining Acehnese who had been handed over by the three embassies.

Events in Indonesia beginning in May (and, specifically, in Aceh in August) gave some Acehnese hope that peace would soon be restored to the region. At the end of 1998, however, the political situation – and the safety of Acehnese returnees – remained uncertain.

Filipino Muslim Refugees

Some 45,000 Filipino Muslims (from the island of Mindanao) remained as refugees in Malaysia at year's end, mostly in the province of Sabah. A larger number of Filipino Muslims – perhaps hundreds of thousands – are believed to be undocumented migrant workers who did not come to Malaysia for refugee-related reasons.

USCR had previously estimated that 500,000 Filipino Muslims were in refugee-like circumstances in Malaysia, based on information obtained from various sources. Because of additional information, however, USCR has re-classified 45,000 of them as refugees and removed the remainder from the refugee-like category. Although Malaysia has no formal asylum system, the government regards these 45,000 as refugees and permits them to reside legally – although temporarily – in Sabah.

Most of the refugees arrived in Sabah in the 1970s, with others arriving in the early 1980s. UNHCR began operations in Sabah in 1977 in response to a request from the Malaysian government for assistance to Filipino Muslims who fled the civil strife in the southern Philippines. UNHCR focused its assistance on local integration, establishing six housing settlements, three markets, and some 90 primary school classrooms. The local government of Sabah implemented the program.

In 1986, the local government conducted a registration and reported a refugee population of 45,170. The refugees were not all affiliated with any Filipino separatist group, although some clearly supported the MNLF.

UNHCR phased out its program during 1987. The Chief Minister's Department of Sabah remained responsible for the refugees, and Malaysia's Federal Task Force on Immigrants continued to monitor their situation. Because few refugees are believed to have returned to the Philippines, the Malaysian government and UNHCR agreed to continue using the 1986 registration figure of 45,170. The actual number has likely increased because of births, although not all refugees have registered their children.

The refugees do not have permanent residence. They hold one-year special passes (normally provided to visitors) on which the authorities stamps "refugee." The passes must be renewed upon expiration. Although the refugees are essentially locally integrated – they can work legally, attend school, and receive basic social and medical services – they are not considered permanent residents. Malaysia asked the refugees to re register during a 1997 legalization exercise aimed at undocumented immigrants. Although other Filipinos were granted Malaysian passports, the refugees' status was not changed. UNHCR considers them refugees under its mandate and monitors their situation, although its no longer provides services.

The refugees entered Malaysia to escape the long-standing conflict between the Philippine military and Muslim insurgents, including those who want a separate Muslim state. The Muslims have complained that the Christian, mostly Catholic, majority in the Philippines treats the Muslims as second-class citizens.

In August 1996, the Philippine government concluded a peace agreement with the Muslim Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF), one of the two main Muslim insurgent groups. During 1997, Malaysia and the Philippines discussed the future of the Filipino Muslims in Sabah, and the Malaysian prime minister promised a gradual return of the population. Nur Misuari, MNLF chairman and governor of the semi-autonomous region established in the southern Philippines, said an early return of the refugees could make them vulnerable to extremists opposed to the peace process.

In 1998, according to UNHCR, Malaysia and the Philippines held no further discussions and undertook no efforts regarding the repatriation. UNHCR noted, however, that some Filipino Muslims may have spontaneously repatriated as a result of the 1996 agreement. Others, they said, may have gone back and forth as part of the large number of persons generally migrating between Mindanao and Sabah.

At year's end, with reported setbacks in the ongoing peace process in Mindanao, prospects for a major repatriation from Malaysia had dimmed.

Rohingya Refugees from Burma

An estimated 5,100 ethnic Rohingya refugees from Burma remained in Malaysia at year's end. The Rohingya, who are Muslim, are one of the minority ethnic groups who have fled persecution by Burma's military regime.

The Rohingya have no legal status in Malaysia and hold no documents. In 1997, Malaysia's prime minister, Mahathir Mohamad, asked the government of Burma to help Malaysia deport 8,000 Burmese "illegal immigrants," presumably including the 5,000 Rohingya refugees. Mohamad said Malaysia was having difficulty deporting the Rohingya because Burma does not consider them its citizens. According to UNHCR, no Rohingyas were repatriated from Malaysia in 1998.

Although most of the Rohingya have been in Malaysia for several years, many approached UNHCR in 1998 for the first time, requesting individual determinations of their refugee claims. By year's end, some 2,000 of the previously registered Rohingya had reconfirmed their presence with UNHCR, and the exercise was proceeding.

Other Developments

An unknown number of ethnic Chinese from Indonesia fled to Malaysia in 1998 to escape anti-Chinese violence. About 5,000 ethnic-Chinese Indonesians reportedly entered Malaysia in May, following large-scale riots that led to the resignation of Indonesia's President Suharto. Most were from Medan, Indonesia's fourth largest city, directly across the Strait of Malacca from the Malaysian city of Penang.

Despite the exodus, no Indonesian Chinese approached UNHCR's Malaysia office during the year. Observers believe that most of the ethnic Chinese may have entered Malaysia legally as visitors and stayed only temporarily. Press reports noted that the government was not likely to grant them permanent residence, because of Malaysia's own multi-racial politics and its relations with Indonesia.