Malaysia must end the refugee legal grey zone with a proper refugee law

For decades, Malaysia has sheltered people fleeing war, persecution and political instability. Yet it remains outside the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, and it has never enacted a comprehensive law defining the status, rights and responsibilities of refugees and asylum seekers.

As of February 2026, UNHCR recorded about 215,600 refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia, with more than 90% from Myanmar, including a large Rohingya population. Parliamentary figures later placed the total at 219,472 as of April.

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