Malaysia begins sending home Myanmar refugees despite safety concerns

Malaysia began the process of deporting around 1,500 Myanmar nationals on Tuesday as part of a refugee repatriation programme, defying objections from the United Nations and dozens of human rights groups.



The deportation is the first phase of a broader plan agreed with Myanmar that could see the return of as many as 5,000 people.



Malaysia has saidthat the programme was strictly voluntary, but the UN refugee agency and civil society organisations have raised concerns about the safety of those being returned, with Myanmar still in a state of civil war.



Dozens of buses accompanied by security vehicles arrived at a stadium near the Lumut naval base in Malaysia's Perak state on Tuesday morning, before being moved to the port where two Myanmar naval vessels and a hospital ship had docked, according to Reuters witnesses. It was unclear who were aboard the buses.



A home ministry spokesperson confirmed the deportation process had begun but declined to divulge further details, referring media to the ministry's August 27 statement.



In the statement, the ministry said the repatriation involved 1,476 Myanmar nationals identified by the Myanmar government.