CNI News

13 August 2024

Many Myanmar citizens who were detained in the detainee camps in Malaysia didn't want to come back to Myanmar, those helping in the issues of Myanmar citizens told CNI News. 

The number of Myanmar nationals who have been arrested is large. However, when the Myanmar Embassy came and asked the detainees if they wanted to go home, many of them didn't want to go home, U Barbu Gyi, a person who is helping in the issues of Myanmar citizens in Malaysia, told CNI News.

" I had to know that because the Malaysian officials from the detainee camps told me. The number of Myanmar detainees in a detainee camp who have refused to go back to Myanmar is at least 300. There are many detainee camps in Malaysia. In fact, Myanmar detainees don't dare to go home because of a bad situation in Myanmar. So, they have refused to go home. As long as they refuse to go home, they will be in the detainee camps. There are some human rights in Malaysia. If they didn't agree to go home, the Malaysian authorities wouldn't forcibly send them back." he said.

While seeing job seeker agencies

Although the Malaysian authorities have allowed undocumented foreigners to go home, the number of undocumented foreigners who go home is reportedly very few.

Most Myanmar citizens who have already arrived in Malaysia made work permits through agents and many of them have got fake permits; the Malaysian authorities were arresting more because they wanted to reduce the number of undocumented foreigners, said U Nyi Nyi Lwin, director general of the Center for Arakan Refugees (CAR) told CNI News.

" The current government has a plan that will make illegal workers die out within three years and then the number of foreign workers will be reduced. So, there are so many arrests. An employer has to take his workers out from the detainee camp within 24 hours. If they were three or four days late to take their workers out, the authorities would be very angry. The address of the workplace has been described on the permit. If a worker's workplace is different from that on the permit, he will be arrested with violation of the law. But largely, if he pay 1,000 Ringgit as a fine, he will be released." he said.

While seeing migrant workers who have arrived in Malaysia

A few days ago, officials from the Malaysian immigration department met with the Myanmar Ambassador and discussed matters relating to sending Myanmar detainees back to Myanmar, social and healthcare of Myanmar detainees.

Although the Malaysian authorities issued work permits through employers, workers who don't have employers took work permits through agents.

Workers who took work permits through agents - when they were arrested, because their workplaces were different from those in their work permits, they were sent back to their native countries.