Malaysian Policy towards Refugees and Asylum Seekers: A Case Study of Rohingya Refugees

Abstract

In Southeast Asia, the protection space that available for refugees and asylum seekers are very limited due to the lack of national legal framework in most of these countries. In fact, some of countries had introduced restrictive policies such as denying access to airport. The paper offer a discussion regarding to the Malaysian policy toward refugees and asylum seeker specifically related to the issue of Rohingya refugees. The study will illustrate the both nature and dimension of Malaysian policy in dealing with Rohingya refugees. Generally, Malaysia did not have any responsibility towards refugee who migrate into state of Malaysia as Malaysia is a non-signatory state to 1951 UN Convention relating to the status of refugee and its 1967 Protocol. However, UNHCR has been mandated to ensure refugees receive same protections in Malaysia.  The paper highlights though Malaysia did not have any legal responsibility towards Rohingya refugees, however the country has given substantial cooperation to UNHCR in helping Rohingya refugees.