25 June 2026 | 11:18 CAT
3-minute read

Over the past two months, anti-immigration and anti-refugee sentiment has intensified in Malaysia, leaving thousands of refugees living in heightened fear and uncertainty.

During the Eid al-Adha holiday period in late May, local residents in Selayang Baru, Selangor, lodged complaints over sanitation and waste management after refugees slaughtered around 60 cattle for Qurbani. What began as a neighbourhood dispute over waste disposal quickly escalated on social media into a broader backlash against the area’s Rohingya refugee community.

An online petition launched on June 1 calling for the removal of Rohingya refugees has since attracted more than 130 000 signatures. The hostility, including online harassment, hateful rhetoric and stereotyping regarding birth rates, has been fuelled by inflammatory online narratives and increasingly polarised public debate.

Speaking to Radio Islam International from Kuala Lumpur, founder and project coordinator of the Ikhlas Hope Society, Norliza Nordeen, explained that although Malaysia hosts more than 215 000 refugees and asylum-seekers, it is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention.

As a result, refugees are treated as undocumented migrants under domestic immigration laws and face significant barriers to employment, education and healthcare.

“They can live here, but it’s a life in limbo. They cannot work, the kids cannot go to national schools, they still have to pay full medical charges as a foreigner at public hospitals, and still need to pay rent and food,” Nordeen said.

She explained that refugees are largely dependent on non-governmental organisations and public donations to survive, while many are now choosing to remain indoors because of growing hostility.

According to Nordeen, the situation has moved beyond online abuse, with reports of harassment, threats of violence and damage to businesses linked to refugee communities. Some refugee learning centres have also temporarily closed out of concern for children’s safety.

The Rohingya, who make up around 60% of Malaysia’s refugee population, have been particularly affected. Having been stripped of citizenship in Myanmar in 1982, many arrived in Malaysia with little or no formal education after decades of systemic discrimination.

Nordeen said this has made it more difficult for many Rohingya adults to communicate, secure livelihoods and integrate into society, leaving them especially vulnerable to public hostility.

She stressed the importance of distinguishing refugees from undocumented migrants, noting that refugees registered with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) receive documentation that offers some protection against arrest and detention. Stateless Rohingya who lack this documentation can face prolonged detention because they have no country willing to accept their return.

Nordeen believes Malaysia urgently needs a domestic refugee policy that provides refugees with temporary legal recognition and basic protections.

“Some sort of a refugee policy, domestic refugee policies, is greatly timely now. I think it should have come in some time ago, to give them some sort of status in this country, even a temporary status so that they are able to live without fear, basically,” she said.

Drawing parallels with rising anti-immigrant sentiment in countries including South Africa, Nordeen argued that compassion and inclusion are essential to preventing further marginalisation.

She warned that refugee children who grow up without access to education or a clear future are at greater risk of exploitation by criminal networks and cycles of poverty.

“Offering them education is a great shield from all these nasty elements. It helps them escape poverty, and it gives them some power to do something about their situation,” she said.

For many refugee families in Malaysia, she added, safety from conflict has not brought certainty. Instead, they continue to live in legal and social limbo, reliant on humanitarian support while hoping for recognition, stability and the opportunity to rebuild their lives.

Listen to the Asia Pacific Report with Norliza Nordeen on Sabaahul Muslim, presented by Moulana Sulaimaan Ravat.