KUALA LUMPUR: The High Court today granted leave for two non-governmental organisations (NGO) to initiate judicial review of the recent deportation of 1,200 immigrants from Myanmar to their homeland by the government last month.
Amnesty International and Asylum Access made their last-ditch legal bid to halt the deportation of the immigrants including members of vulnerable minorities last month.
Counsel Lim Wei Jiet when contacted said High Court judge Datuk Seri Mariana Yahya made the ruling after rejecting the Attorney-General's Chambers (AGC) argument that both NGOs lacked locus standi to file the application.
"The court also granted a stay against the Immigration Department director-general and Home Minister from deporting the remaining 114 Myanmar nationals until the disposal of the entire judicial review.
"The court said NGOs played an important role in today's society to fight for the rights of vulnerable groups.
"The High Court acknowledged that we live today in a much more liberal society where concepts of accountability and transparency are part and parcel of our lives," he said.
The court has fixed March 23 for case management.
It was reported that the same court on Feb 23, allowed the NGOs' application for an interim stay to halt the government's plan to deport 1,200 Myanmar refugees to their homeland pending the leave application for a judicial review.
However, it was reported that hours after the court granted the temporary stay order, the Immigration Department deported 1,086 Myanmar migrants, breaching the court's order to stop their repatriation.
Immigration Department director-general Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud said the repatriation programme was implemented by his department, with the assistance of the Malaysian Armed Forces, including the navy, the National Task Force (NTF) and the Myanmar embassy.
He said all detainees sent back were Myanmar illegal immigrants and did not involve Rohingya or asylum seekers and they had agreed to return home voluntarily, without coercion by any party.
He said the repatriation programme was part of an ongoing deportation process by the Immigration Department for detainees housed in Immigration Department depots.