Background The plight of refugee⁹ and stateless¹⁰ children in Malaysia are a humanitarian concern that requires immediate attention. In 1975, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) began its operations in Malaysia in response to the arrival of Vietnamese refugees by boat. Since this time, Malaysia with the assistance of UNHCR have provided temporary and ad hoc asylum to persons fleeing persecution, despite Malaysia not having a formal refugee framework in place. As of the end of June 2023, there were 181,560 refugees and asylum-seekers registered with the UNHCR in Malaysia11 including 49,220 children. Furthermore, the issue of statelessness has often been featured in tandem with refugee issues12. To briefly explain within the international legal context, a ‘stateless person' is an individual who is not recognised as a national by any state under the operation of its laws13. Adding on, the absence of a legal policy framework for addressing the situation of refugees in Malaysia impedes the full protection and enjoyment of their rights. Consequently, the country hosts many refugee and stateless children who face formidable challenges in accessing fundamental rights such as education, healthcare, and legal protection. In the past, the Comprehensive Plan of Action (CPA) facilitated large-scale third-country resettlement. The CPA was drafted in Kuala Lumpur in 1989 and adopted at an international conference in Geneva in June of that same year. The CPA was conceptualised in response to the influx of refugees into Malaysia (and the region more broadly) from Cambodia and Vietnam in the 1970s and 1980s .Subsequently, Malaysia's most comprehensive refugee management response was implemented during its role in the international CPA for Indochinese Refugees. In the 1990s, former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad provided temporary legal stay to Bosnian refugees during the Bosnia and Herzegovina conflict under the Temporary Protection Programme. Referred to as “guests” rather than refugees, they did not require a visa to enter Malaysia14. The prime minister was forthright in his criticism of the Serbian government, making it clear that all refugees on Malaysian territory would not be required to return until it was safe15. On 1 October 2015, the former Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib Razak, during the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), pledged to accept 3,000 Syrians in Malaysia on a humanitarian basis within three years, starting in 2015 under the Syrian Migrants Temporary Relocation Programme in Malaysia or formally known as Program Penempatan Sementara Migran Syria (PPSMS)16. Furthermore, in March 2017, Malaysia piloted a project to allow 300 Rohingya refugees to work legally within the plantation and manufacturing sectors17. The aim of this project is to provide the right of employment and foster self-reliance among refugees, while ensuring their greater protection through a mutually beneficial approach that meets the labour demand of Malaysia18. 9 “Refugees are people who have fled war, violence, conflict or persecution and have crossed an international border to find safety in another country.” They are defined in international and regional instruments as well as in the Statute of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees approved by the United Nations General Assembly. Available at: https://www.unhcr.org/what-refugee and https://www.unhcr.org/what-we-do/publications/statute-office-united-nations-high-commissioner-refugees. “Pelarian adalah individu yang telah melarikan diri dari peperangan, keganasan, konflik atau penganiayaan yang telah menyeberangi sempadan antarabangsa untuk mendapatkan perlindungan di negara lain.” Didefinisikan dalam instrumen antarabangsa dan serantau serta Statut Pejabat Pesuruhjaya Tinggi Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu bagi Pelarian yang diluluskan oleh Perhimpunan Agung Pertubuhan Bangsa-Bangsa Bersatu. Diambil daripada: https://www.unhcr.org/what-refugee and https://www.unhcr.org/what-we-do/publications/statute-office-united-nations-high-commissioner-refugees 10 Article 1 (1) of the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons defines a stateless person as ‘a person who is not considered as a national by any State under the operation of its law'. Artikel 1(1) Konvensyen 1954 mengenai Status Orang Tidak Bernegara menakrifkan orang tidak bernegara sebagai ‘individu yang tidak dianggap sebagai rakyat atau warganegara di bawah operasi undang-undang di mana-mana negara.’ 11 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Malaysia, ‘Figures at a Glance in Malaysia’. Available at: https://www.unhcr.org/en-my/figures-at-a-glance-in-malaysia.html. United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Malaysia, ‘Figures at a Glance in Malaysia’. diakses dari: https://www.unhcr.org/en-my/figures-at-a-glance-in-malaysia.html. 12 T. J. Duraisingam. (2016). Chronology of Policies Affecting Potentially Stateless Persons and Refugees in Malaysia https://files.institutesi.org/WP2016_07.pdf 13 ibid 14 Karčić, H. (2014). One-way ticket to Kuala Lumpur: Bosnian Muslims in Malaysia in the early 1990s. Indonesia and the Malay World 42(124), 400-417. 15 Munir-Asen, K. (2018). (Re)negotiating Refugee Protection in Malaysia: Implications for Future Policy in Refugee Management. Reducing Root Causes of Forced Displacement and Managing Migration, 8,9. https://www.idos-research.de/uploads/media/DP_29.2018_01.pdf 16 Nazri, A.S., Khalid, K.A.T., Sulaiman, N. & Dolhan, N. (2021). “An Analysis Of Syrian Migrants’ Temporary Relocation Programme In Malaysia'' International Social Sciences Studies Journal, (e-ISSN:2587-1587) Vol:7, Issue:81; pp:1456-1467 17 Yi, L. (2016, November 24). Malaysia in a pilot scheme to allow Rohingya refugees to work. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malaysia-refugees-rohingya-idUSKBN13J1F1 18 Malaysian government explores letting Rohingya work in agriculture sector. (2017, January 12). Today Online. https://www.todayonline.com/world/asia/malaysian-government-explores-letting-rohingya-work-agriculture-sector 5