The Human (in)Security of Syrian Refugees in Malaysia

Abstract

The ongoing Syrian conflict has resulted in millions of refugees fleeing the country since 2011. In 2015, the Malaysian government pledged to host 3000 Syrian refugees to continue their lives safely in Malaysia before returning to Syria when the war ends. However, Malaysia has not ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol, which serves as an international treaty that recognises refugees’ status and protects their rights. Due to the non-existence of a legal framework to protect refugees and externally displaced persons, this article argues that human security threats are very likely to be faced by Syrian refugees in Malaysia, despite the implementation of the Syrian Migrant Temporary Settlement Program (PPSMS) by the Malaysian government. Through qualitative research and in-depth interviews with selected government officials, Syrian refugees and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the analysis in this article revealed that there are major security concerns that have impacted existing Syrian refugees in Malaysia, which can be viewed from different interdependent human security dimensions, such as political, economic, health and social security.