Malaysian authorities detain over 100 Rohingya asylum seekers outside UNHCR office

Kuala Lumpur — Malaysian authorities detained more than 100 Rohingya Muslim asylum seekers on Tuesday after they gathered outside the office of the United Nations refugee agency in Kuala Lumpur, following their eviction from a settlement in the northern state of Penang.

The group was transported in four police vehicles from outside the office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at around 8:20 p.m., along with "luggage and personal belongings," according to a report by the New Straits Times.

Kuala Lumpur police chief Fadil Marsus confirmed that 113 refugees, including 110 Rohingya, were being held at police headquarters. He added that checks conducted during the documentation process found that all the Rohingya refugees possessed valid UNHCR documents.

Refugees Seek Resettlement Advice

The refugees told Reuters they had traveled to the UNHCR office after being driven out of their homes by local residents in Penang on Sunday, and were seeking advice on resettlement.

However, Penang police said the Rohingya had "voluntarily moved" to Kuala Lumpur with the assistance of state and federal authorities.

Government Response

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Tuesday that he had directed police and immigration authorities to "take firm action" against the refugees in order "to control the situation and ensure public peace is maintained." In an accompanying video, he stated: "No one has the right to take over any part of the city."

Rising Public Hostility

The incident comes amid a surge in popular hostility and online hate speech directed at Rohingya refugees in Malaysia:

• Last month, more than half a million people signed a petition on Change.org calling for the removal of Rohingya refugees from Malaysia.
• The petition followed an outraged online response to cows being slaughtered by Rohingya refugees for the festival of Eid al-Adha.
• Prominent public figures have since described the Rohingya as "criminals" and "intruders," likening them to a "cancer" on the country.
• Social media posts have encouraged violence against the Rohingya or urged users to report their locations to authorities.

Background on Rohingya in Malaysia

Rohingya asylum seekers have arrived in Malaysia steadily over the past two decades, particularly since 2017, when an ethnic cleansing campaign by the Myanmar military pushed more than 740,000 people from Rakhine State into Bangladesh.

Currently, around 126,000 Rohingya are registered with UNHCR — more than half of the total refugee population in Malaysia. However, Malaysia does not recognize the Rohingya as refugees and has, in line with growing public hostility, tightened enforcement of immigration laws against them in recent years.

New Registration System

Last week, Malaysia ordered UNHCR to temporarily stop registering new refugees in the country as it begins operating its own system for managing asylum-seekers. The system, known as DPP, is set to apply much more stringent criteria than UNHCR regarding who can be granted refugee status.

Government Scrutiny and School Closures

According to Reuters, the online hate campaign has led to growing government scrutiny of Rohingya communities, prompting investigations, raids, and the closures of Rohingya-linked schools and businesses. At least nine Rohingya schools have been forced to shut nationwide, many due to rising harassment and abuse, including of children.

Eviction from Penang Settlement

The group detained outside the UNHCR office had been forced to leave their settlement in the village of Kuala Muda in Penang on Sunday. The New Straits Times reported that around 500 Rohingya vacated the village "peacefully" after "villagers, authorities and members of the refugee community honored a month-long agreement to relocate."

While the community "rarely caused problems," the arrival of around 25 Rohingya a few months ago prompted villagers to intervene.

"This transfer was carried out due to economic and territorial competition that arose following an increase in the Rohingya population in the area," Seberang Perai Utara district police chief Anuar Abdul Rahman said in a statement quoted by Reuters.

Local officials said there were "no riots, arguments, or violence" during the Rohingyas' departure. However, one journalist posted on X that Kuala Muda had subsequently declared itself a "Rohingya-free area."

Parallels to Myanmar

As Alex Howlett reported for The Diplomat recently, the online hate campaign against the Rohingya has centered on narratives similar to those that accompanied their expulsion from Rakhine State in Myanmar — in particular, the toxic notion that Rohingya families reproduce at a far faster rate than Malaysian families. Another parallel is the accusation that big social media companies have failed to adequately address hate speech targeting the community.