Suhakam said the government must commit to not sending home the persecuted who seek refuge in Malaysia, and instead could offer them pathways to work and education.

Last month, home minister Hamzah Zainudin said the immigration department would conduct large-scale operations to detain undocumented migrants during the MCO lockdown, but later clarified that his ministry was doing this to vaccinate the migrants.

More recently, the department was criticised for sharing an anti-Rohingya poster on its Twitter account, which rights groups said could spark hatred and violence towards the group.

In a statement, Suhakam said that while Malaysia had spoken out against xenophobia on the international stage, authorities should do the same towards migrants on home soil.

Undocumented migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers were exposed to exploitation and prone to being arrested and detained because of their lack of legal status. Malaysian laws did not distinguish between refugees, asylum seekers, and undocumented migrants and they are often mistakenly considered as a matter of national security concern.

“Instilling fear through threats of arrests and detention of undocumented foreigners is counterproductive,” said Suhakam.