MGR Online — Malaysia's Foreign Minister confirmed on Monday (10) that the Myanmar government has expressed willingness toward a plan to repatriate 5,000 Rohingya refugees currently in Malaysia by sea, Bernama news agency reported.
Mohammad Hasan stressed that although Malaysia has already identified the first group of refugees, any repatriation remains strictly contingent on comprehensive safety and security guarantees.
The proposal was raised during a recent meeting with Myanmar's Foreign Minister Than Swe, signalling a shift from Naypyidaw's earlier reluctance to accept refugees from Malaysia.
"They indicated they are willing to take back 5,000 refugees by sea, but the issue is the safety of these people. Will they be safe when we send them back? What will happen to them — that also has to be considered," Mohammad Hasan said.
While Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced on 29 July that Naypyidaw had agreed to a repatriation framework, Malaysian authorities have emphasised that refugees will not be returned if those individuals face persecution, arbitrary detention, or life-threatening conditions.
Malaysia's Foreign Minister also reaffirmed that any bilateral agreement must be carried out within the framework of ASEAN's Five-Point Consensus. He noted that while the management of refugees would involve domestic logistics, ASEAN views Myanmar's widening humanitarian crisis as a shared regional responsibility.
"We want the Five-Point Consensus to remain ASEAN's primary mechanism toward Myanmar. We want the Myanmar government to fulfil the aspirations of ASEAN leaders, because everyone agreed — including Myanmar's military government leaders at the time," Mohammad Hasan added, affirming that any modifications to regional agreements require collective negotiation rather than unilateral action.
