Malaysian authorities detained more than 100 Rohingya Muslim asylum seekers on Monday who had gathered outside the UN refugee agency in Kuala Lumpur, saying they were seeking protection after being evicted from their homes.
According to Reuters witnesses at the scene, all of the refugees outside the UNHCR were taken away with their belongings in four police trucks at around 8:30pm. A police official, who declined to be identified, said they were being taken to police headquarters in Kuala Lumpur for further checks. Witnesses described the refugees boarding the trucks calmly but visibly distressed, carrying what few possessions they had managed to salvage from the evictions.
The refugees, who included women and children, said they were driven out of their homes by local residents in the northern state of Penang and had travelled to the Malaysian capital on buses overnight to seek assistance with resettlement from the UNHCR. The move to Kuala Lumpur was an attempt to highlight their plight and seek international intervention for possible resettlement.
Penang police said the Rohingya “voluntarily moved” to Kuala Lumpur with the assistance of state and federal authorities, including the National Security Council. Seberang Perai Utara district police chief Anuar Abdul Rahman said: “This transfer was carried out due to economic and territorial competition that arose following an increase in the Rohingya population in the area.” Malaysian officials maintain that the operations were conducted to restore order and address community complaints.
The evictions came amid a rise in online hate speech and misinformation targeting the Rohingya since May, which has led to greater harassment and scrutiny of the community, including the temporary closure of some schools in Penang amid safety fears for local students. Analysts note that anti-refugee sentiment has grown in parts of Malaysia, fuelled by social media and economic pressures.
Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Monday (27th July) that the gathering outside the UNHCR building had raised public concerns and warned that anyone without proper permits would be detained by immigration authorities. “No one has the right to take over any part of the city,” Ibrahim said in a video posted on social media.
The UNHCR office in Kuala Lumpur did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Monday’s detentions. It told Reuters on Friday that it was concerned by rising online hate speech, disinformation, and dehumanising narratives targeting Rohingya and other refugees, which it said could fuel harassment and discrimination offline.
Syed Kasim, one of the Rohingya refugees, said he had arrived with his wife and children at the UNHCR building in the early hours of Monday, but the group had received no assistance from any authority. “Nobody helped (with) our problem, nobody understands,” Kasim said, adding that he had been living in Malaysia for 20 years.
Bryony Lau, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said Rohingya refugees in Malaysia live under the constant threat of arrests and raids in a climate of fear that has only worsened due to the surge in online hate directed towards them. “The Malaysian government should prioritise protecting refugees who have been evicted from their homes instead of terrifying them further by detaining them,” Lau said. Rights groups have more broadly urged a more compassionate approach focused on protection rather than enforcement.
Around 126,000 Rohingya Muslims were registered with the UNHCR in Malaysia as of the end of February, according to the agency’s website, though rights groups say many more remain undocumented. More broadly, Malaysia hosts a significant number of refugees from Myanmar, with the total registered with the UNHCR exceeding 215,000 as of early 2026, more than half of whom are Rohingya.
Though it is not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention and regards asylum seekers as illegal migrants, Muslim-majority Malaysia has long been seen as a safe haven for Rohingya fleeing persecution in largely Buddhist Myanmar. That changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the Rohingya were accused of spreading the virus, disrespecting cultural norms, and competing with locals for jobs. Many Rohingya in Malaysia still live in informal settlements and rely on community support, with limited access to formal employment or education.
The refugees detained on Monday now face an uncertain future as they undergo processing at police facilities.
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