KUALA LUMPUR: Amnesty International yesterday said Malaysia was a "dangerous" place for refugees who were often abused, arrested and "treated like criminals".

Amnesty said the refugees, mainly from military-ruled Myanmar, were subjected to a litany of abuses as the government did not recognise their status.

"For those refugees and asylum-seekers who are forced to flee their homelands in search of protection, Malaysia is an unwelcoming and dangerous place," it said in a strongly-worded report ahead of World Refugee Day on Sunday.

Malaysia had not ratified the United Nations Refugee Convention and refugees were often treated as undocumented workers, Amnesty said.

The lack of legal status means refugees can be punished by imprisonment for up to five years and whipping for illegally entering the country.

Amnesty also claimed the government had deported refugees to persecution that they had fled, but said no new incidents had been recorded since July last year.

"Refugees should be able to live with dignity while they are in Malaysia," Chris Nash, Amnesty International head of refugee and migrant rights, said in the report. -- AFP

Read more: 'Let refugees live in dignity' http://www.nst.com.my/nst/articles/12rou/Article/#ixzz0r4a2Two1