JISEAS Issue Paper No. 22

"Refugee Health in Malaysia"

by Jeonghyeon Kim

Abstract

Under what conditions, would the refugees’ rights to health be improved, particularly in the states that are not a party to the Refugee Convention? To answer the question, this paper analyzes the situation of refugees in Malaysia with the data gained from field research conducted in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in July 2022. This paper argues that refugee-led community organizations(RCOs) are the critical policy actors that complement and advance the refugee health and medical programs operated by IOs and NGOs in Malaysia. RCOs take collective actions to solve the refugee issues independently with better knowledge and understanding of the refugee situations derived from the same language, religion, ethnicity, and shared experience of persecution from the country of origin. As a significant social capital, RCOs play a role as mediators and facilitators at the center of a three-tier partnership with IOs and NGOs to improve the refugee protection programs in Malaysia.

* Please find the attached file for JISEAS Issue Paper No. 22.