Malaysia

Working environment

• Malaysia is neither a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention nor its 1967 Protocol and lacks a legislative and policy framework for refugees.
• Malaysia is also not a party to the 1954 and 1961 Statelessness Convention.
• Refugees and asylum-seekers, including children, continue to be treated as illegal migrants and are vulnerable to arrests and detention.
• Refugees and asylum-seekers also lack access to legal employment opportunities and are therefore pushed into the informal sector, which exposes them to protection risks, including exploitation and harassment, and limits their access to sustainable basic services.

Population trends

• By the end of December 2015, there were 156,342 persons of concern to UNHCR in Malaysia. Of these, 92 per cent originated from Myanmar and were mostly Rohingya. 
• Mixed maritime movements originating from the Bay of Bengal and the Andaman Sea in the summer of 2015 resulted in approximately 1,100 arrivals to Malaysia. The situation continued to pose significant protection issues following the indefinite detention of some 370 refugees from this group. Durable solutions for this population have yet to be found.

Achievements and impact    

• In 2015, 127 community-learning centres in Malaysia were supported and 48 per cent of all boys and girls were able to access primary and secondary education. In addition, 155 refugees gained access to tertiary education through agreements with five universities in the country. 
• In 2015, UNHCR laid the groundwork for a comprehensive strategy to expand the protection space and provide durable solutions for refugees by strengthening community-based protection mechanisms, self-reliance initiatives and capacity-building activities for community-based organizations and NGOs.
• The Office developed a new case processing arrangement that better addresses the protection needs of refugees.
• UNHCR provided technical assistance to a local NGO to conclude a mapping exercise of the stateless population in West Malaysia.
• Participatory assessments were conducted with 11,285 individuals – 20 per cent of whom were women and girls – the outcome of which informed the planning and design of UNHCR’s operation plan. 

Unmet needs    

• A growing proportion of vulnerable refugees, especially Rohingya, continued to experience protection problems due to the lack of legal stay options in Malaysia.
• More people of concern stayed for a longer period of time without being registered, exposing them to increased risks of arrest and detention.
• UNHCR’s capacity to monitor, visit and register cases in immigration detention centres continued to be limited. With new arrivals, the Office continued to face backlogs in all areas, including registration, RSD, child protection, and sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) prevention and response.

Working environment

Malaysia is not party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and lacks a legislative and administrative framework to address refugee matters. All asylum-seekers and refugees are treated as irregular migrants and in the absence of any substantive engagement by the authorities, UNHCR remains the principal entity to offer protection, albeit limited. 

The Malaysian Government implements strict policies to deter undocumented migrants. As refugees and asylum-seekers are not distinguished from undocumented migrants under Malaysian law, they are vulnerable to the same penalties, including arrest, detention and deportation. 

Refugees tend to be at a high risk of exploitation, with women and children particularly exposed as they have no work rights, and refugee children have no access to public schools. 

The capacity of the non-governmental community in Malaysia is limited and needs to be strengthened. UNHCR works with some partner NGOs to support refugee health, education and community empowerment. 
 
There are a number of people with undetermined nationality who are at risk of statelessness - as they are considered long-term residents of Malaysia in their own country. Their number has to be verified and their needs assessed.

Needs and strategies

In 2015, UNHCR Malaysia will introduce a recalibrated processing system that will target particularly vulnerable groups and individuals, and ensure stronger case-management support and referrals based on their needs and vulnerabilities. UNHCR will focus on consolidating registration, refugee status determination (RSD) and solutions activities. It will also focus on early protection interventions for the release of arrested people of concern.

Targeted programme support will also be provided to increase community resilience and self-reliance, particularly concerning better access to basic services, higher attendance levels in primary schools and improved health, through enhanced access to essential medical assistance and support via a private health insurance scheme. Accordingly, UNHCR will purse programmes to strengthen the capacity of NGO partners while remaining engaged in the direct implementation of activities for people of concern.

UNHCR will continue to advocate for alternative stay arrangements, for instance, through the regularization of the legal status of people of concern through work permits.

The Office will also continue to work with the Government and other partners in identifying and implementing measures to reduce statelessness in Malaysia.

Resettlement will be pursued as an important part of UNHCR’s broader approach to durable solutions.