Dato' Salman Ahmad is reported as indicating that Malaysia has reasons for not signing the UN Convention on Refugees.
Those reasons were apparently not specified and there's been no indication that the national government will move forward in the post-Mahathir era. We might speculate that international agreements such as the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) are inconsistent with Malaysia's bumiputra policy, restrictions on free speech, fondness for corporal punishment and provincial law criminalising apostasy.
The High Commissioner indicated that "This does not mean that we do not treat refugees with respect and dignity" (caning perhaps being one signifier of dignity) and offered reassurance. People transferred to Malaysia will "mingle" in the community while their claims are processed. "There is not going to be any centre so they are not going to be in detention".
I am more impressed by the comment from Amnesty International refugee coordinator Grahame Tom, who characterised the agreement as an "extraordinary" political over-reaction -
You know we really are talking about a minuscule amount of people, and yet to send them back to a country, which is not a signatory to the convention, where we know there are real problems with the treatment of refugees and asylum seekers is absolutely extraordinary
