MALAYSIA TO PRIORITISE ADDRESSING TRANSNATIONAL REPRESSIONDURING ASEAN CHAIRMANSHIP IN 2025

Suara Rakyat Malaysia (SUARAM) strongly condemns the Madani Government’s deportation of Cambodian domestic worker Nuon Toeun. On grounds of respect for fundamental rights in the Federal Constitution and the non-refoulement principle, the state must immediately halt such unlawful deportations, alongside other actions by enforcement authorities that exacerbate risks to life of those individuals, namely activists, human rights defenders (HRDs) and defectors.

Nuon’s deportation is alarming on multiple fronts. In view of Nuon’s valid work visa and the absence of a criminal record in Malaysia, by deporting her, Malaysia has blatantly violated her fundamental right to life and personal liberty enshrined in Article 5 of the Federal Constitution – a right, which by right, should not discriminate on the basis of citizenship status. This action also makes the Madani Government no different from its predecessor that deported Bangladeshi migrant worker Mohamad Rayhan Kabir in 2021 for criticisms of our authorities’ treatment of undocumented persons during the pandemic – demonstrating not only state intolerance towards criticism, but also failure to consistently uphold and respect freedom of expression.

The implications involved are both far-reaching and chilling. Domestically, the lives of defectors and HRDs seeking protection here as refugees or asylum seekers from wellfounded fears of persecution hang more precariously in the balance. In the case of Egyptian HRD Ahmed Hassanine Mohamed Mousa who is currently detained by the Immigration Department, he experiences grave risks of arbitrary detention and worse, torture by Egyptian authorities once deportation takes place. At the broader level, by deporting Nuon, Malaysia also plays an active role in creating an increasingly repressive socio-political environment in the Southeast Asian region, where state violence is legitimised, and people would no longer feel safe to practise their fundamental rights and advocate for justice for others.

A scrupulous and democratic government would not stoop to such human rights violations in the name of upholding a nation’s right to extradition. As we reiterate our call for cessation of all violations of non-refoulement including forced deportations, we also urge the Madani Government to implement a national stance of zero tolerance against transnational repression, with the following measures taken:

• Immediately release defectors, HRDs, refugees and asylum seekers who are still in immigration detention

• Prioritise addressing transnational repression at the regional level, including strengthening the role of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights in protecting HRDs, as Malaysia assumes chairmanship of ASEAN in 2025

• Undertake thorough reform in immigration policy to end the use of arbitrary detention, with the long-term aim of gradually abolishing immigration detention in full. Safe screening processes should be put in place to enable responsive identification of atrisk detainees, with enforcement officers adequately trained to support these individuals and refrain from engaging in actions that may exacerbate their risks.