ROHINGYA REFUGEES MIGRATION TO MALAYSIA: A PRELIMINARY STUDY

The Rohingyas are refugees originally from Rakhine, Myanmar, who fled to Malaysia since in the end of the 1970s and early 1980s. They choose Malaysia as a destination compared to other South-east Asian countries, in spite of the obstacles and restrictions faced. Hence the purpose of this article is to identify the factors for their preference in choosing Malaysia as a transit country, and the modus operandi used by them to enter Malaysia. This qualitative research gathered data from content analysis of written materials. It argues that the ethnic Rohingyas entry into Malaysia is not only to flee the ethnic crisis in their country of origin. Their purpose is partly economic in efforts to build a better life for the future, due to the favourable factors of sharing a common religion with Muslim Malaysians, family influence, political stability, attitude and culture of Malaysian society and opportunity for education in Malaysia. The availability of various migration cross-border routes paved the way for their planned or unplanned entry. The selection of migration route whether over land, water or air or combination of routes depends on aspects such as safety, duration of journey, service fees for smuggling of humans and the risk of getting caught by authorities.