Speaking to FMT on the condition of anonymity, the 24-year-old man said he had been in Malaysia since March 1 last year to visit his Malaysian girlfriend but had been unable to leave the country due to border lockdowns and cancelled flights brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.
International travel restrictions have since been loosened, but the ongoing crisis in Myanmar is making him cautious about returning. Protests in his country against the military junta’s overthrow of the government on Feb 1 have led to the killing of more than 700 people.
The man grew up in Malaysia and his family lived in the country until his father retired in 2018. He said his father successfully applied for a Malaysia My Second Home visa.
“I can’t go back even if I want to because all the airports in Myanmar are closed,” he said. “And, of course, I think it’s too risky to go back right now.
“I hope the Malaysian immigration will give me some leeway and allow me to extend my visa until next year. I’m willing to pay whatever cost necessary.”
On Monday, the Immigration Department said foreigners whose social visas expired during the movement control order must leave Malaysia by April 21 or be fined or detained.
However, its director-general Khairul Dzaimee Daud said those finding it difficult to return to their home countries because of travel restrictions could apply for a pass to extend their stay.
The man said he was supposed to return to Myanmar on March 25 last year but his flight kept getting postponed or cancelled.
He said he contacted the Immigration Department before the coup in Myanmar and was assured that he could return to Myanmar through the department’s recalibration programme.
The programme allows foreigners who have overstayed to leave the country if they pay the department a RM500 penalty for overstaying and have a ticket home.
“I would then be allowed to return without any problems,” he said. “The programme lasts until June 30 this year, but with this latest update that foreigners on expired social visas have to leave by April 21, I’m not sure whether I’m still eligible.
“I have tried calling the department but they didn’t even want to listen when I told them about the situation in Myanmar.
“They just said I must follow the programme and go back, though this was before the update that foreigners on expired social visit passes have to return by April 21.”
More than 80 people were reportedly killed in Bago, Myanmar, last weekend. The United Nations said the military opened fire with rocket-propelled grenades, fragmentation grenades and mortars.
On Tuesday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, warned that the ongoing repression of protests in Myanmar could spark a “full-blown conflict” like in Syria.
Urging states to take immediate action to halt the killing of civilians, Bachelet said at least 707 people had been killed since the military seized control of the government more than two months ago.
“The military seems intent on intensifying its pitiless policy of violence against the people of Myanmar, using military-grade and indiscriminate weaponry,” said Bachelet in a statement.
“I fear the situation in Myanmar is heading towards a full-blown conflict. States must not allow the deadly mistakes of the past in Syria and elsewhere to be repeated.”