LUMUT: Malaysia began sending back around 1,500 Myanmar nationals on Tuesday, the government confirmed, as it launched a scheme rights groups say may endanger migrants by returning them to the war-torn country.

The batch is the first of 5,000 Myanmar citizens Kuala Lumpur says agreed to “voluntary” repatriation from detention centres amidst a huge uptick in anti-migrant sentiment in Malaysia.

Both the UN and advocacy organisations voiced concern on Tuesday, saying the group could face dangerous homecomings in Myanmar, where war has raged since 2021. Neither Malaysia nor Myanmar has officially clarified the number of Rohingya in the first group, and there is worry they may be returned to a country where they face persecution rights groups say amounts to genocide.

On Tuesday afternoon, reporters saw three ships belonging to the Myanmar navy departing from Malaysia’s Lumut naval base around 5pm local time. This included the auxiliary support and hospital ship Than Lwin and the amphibious landing platform ship Moattama, which had been used in a previous repatriation exercise.

Malaysia’s Home Affairs Ministry in a statement confirmed that the repatriations were underway. “Today, 1,476 individuals have commenced Phase One of the repatriation programme, based on a list submitted by the Myanmar Government via an official Diplomatic Note,” it said in a statement.

It added that the repatriation was part of the government’s plan to resolve the “legacy issue” of foreign asylum-seekers in Malaysia — of which it said 95 percent were from Myanmar.

“This long-standing issue has imposed a significant financial burden on the nation, triggered serious social crises, and created tangible security threats for the Malaysian people,” the statement said. But in Geneva, United Nations refugee agency spokesman Matthew Saltmarsh told reporters “we are concerned by the reported imminent return of some 1,500 individuals from Malaysia to that country”.

Published in Dawn, September 30th, 2026