Kedatangan pelarian dan pencari suaka ke Malaysia dari beberapa negara untuk mendapatkan perlindungan yang berpunca daripada penganiayaan telah mendorong Malaysia untuk memberikan perlindungan yang sewajarnya kepada golongan ini atas dasar kemanusiaan, secara dasarnya kerajaan tidak mengiktiraf mereka sebagai pelarian kerana Malaysia bukan negara yang terikat kepada Konvensyen Status Pelarian 1951 atau Protokol Status Pelarian 1967. Kajian ini memberi tumpuan kepada sejarah kedatangan pelarian dan pencari suaka ke Malaysia dan perkembangan perundangan yang mengatur pergerakan mereka. Kajian ini menggunakan kaedah kualitatif melalui kajian kepustakaan seperti buku, jurnal, artikel dan surat khabar. Penulisan ini mengadaptasi corak penyelidikan kualitatif yang berdasarkan sejarah. Tujuan kajian ini adalah untuk mengetahui sejarah pelarian di Malaysia dan keperluan undang-undang yang tepat dan kukuh untuk mereka, ia bagi memastikan mereka diperlakukan secara manusiawi dan tidak dizalimi dengan apa-apa cara, atau bentuk sekalipun. Penerapan dasar berasaskan maqāṣid syariah yang dicadang kerajaan dilihat sebagai satu alternatif yang baik dalam menangani dan menyelesaikan beberapa isu berkaitan pelarian di Malaysia secara amnya. Hasil kajian menunjukkan bahawa terdapat banyak krisis dan masalah mengenai pelarian yang tidak hanya mempengaruhi mereka secara individu tetapi juga secara tidak langsung mempengaruhi ekonomi Malaysia. Peranan penting untuk mengenal pasti dasar atau undang-undang yang tepat berkaitan pelarian di Malaysia, sejauh mana pengamalannya memenuhi kehendak maqāṣid syariah dan juga keperluan untuk merancang kerangka dasar atau undang-undang yang kukuh dan sesuai bagi memastikan negara tidak menghadapi masalah dalam menerima pelarian pada masa akan datang

This paper mainly explores the concept of refugee from the Islamic perspective. The discussion encapsulates the definitions of ‘refugee’, the position of refugees under international law and how Islam views refugees and the treatment they deserve. This article adopts a qualitative analysis via an exploratory approach, mainly employing library research of the primary and secondary sources of reference on the subject, and findings from an engagement with an Islamic authority in Malaysia conducted on 13th October 2020. This paper are divided into three parts, the first part differentiates perceptions of refugees from the Islamic and Western worldviews, including the international law that applies to refugees. The second part explains the definition and provides an overview of history of refugee acceptance in Malaysia. The third part explains the crisis and problem arising among the refugees in Malaysia, which call for a paradigm shift in the way such groups are positioned and treated within the local framework of laws and policy. It is hoped that by enlightening some responsibilities of the State which has agreed to provide refuge for these people on humanitarian basis, the leaders and the host community would treat them in a better right-respecting way.

The arrivals and protracted presence of asylum seekers and refugees in Malaysia have been met with policies largely shaped by humanitarian approaches leading to inconsistent responses and impasse in achieving durable solutions to refugee dilemmas. This qualitative study using the method of desk review of materials such as books, journals and newspaper articles identifies the human rights protection framework for asylum seekers and refugees and the problematic implications and challenges for both refugees and the host country, Malaysia, due to the absence of a formal refugee protection framework at the national level. Despite gaps in and outdated nature of the 1951 Refugee Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, it calls for refugee legal protections to be based on a legal and governance framework rather than non-binding aspirations and ad hoc approaches. The latter has proved adverse to both the interests of the host state and refugee communities. The findings indicate that the impacts on denial and violation of the rights and protections of refugees across political, social and economic terrains are accompanied by risks to Malaysia’s public security and interests. The study concludes with several early recommendations on the need to firstly recognise the legal status of refugees in Malaysia and the urgency to design an adequate protection and governance framework complemented with a system of shared responsibility to protect and manage refugees who have been in protracted limbo for an average of 20 years, if not more, without durable solutions to their plight.