No Rohingya have been repatriated to Myanmar under the Malaysia-Myanmar arrangement so far, despite more than 10,000 Myanmar nationals having returned from Malaysia since January, Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim told the Parliament on Monday.

Anwar said the arrangement applies to Myanmar nationals from different ethnic communities, including the Rohingya, but none from the group had yet been sent back, according to media reports.

“In the records we have so far, no Rohingya nationals have been brought back yet. But this is still under discussion, and I believe the Foreign Minister, and I myself when I meet the President in the coming days, will also raise this issue so that it can be dealt with as properly as possible.

“But for me, any country that wants to bring its nationals home from our country, we welcome that,” he said during Prime Minister’s Question Time.

He was responding to Pulai MP Suhaizan Kaiat, who asked whether Rohingya were among 1,400 Myanmar nationals recently returned by sea, given Myanmar’s refusal to recognise the Rohingya.

Anwar said the 1,400 people were part of a larger repatriation effort involving more than 10,000 Myanmar nationals since January. The latest group was transported on a Myanmar naval vessel, while other returnees had been flown back through arrangements made by the Myanmar government.

He said the repatriations were voluntary and that those returning had formally consented before being sent back.

“Those who return sign their consent, without coercion, not under duress, to be repatriated,” he said.

According to Anwar, Malaysia’s agreement with Myanmar covers several ethnic communities, including Arakan, Karen, Shan and Rohingya. Kuala Lumpur has sought assurances that returnees would receive reasonable treatment and not be subjected to suffering, oppression or human rights violations.

“The conditions we have set are, first, that they must bring Myanmar nationals home. Second, there must be a guarantee of reasonable treatment of their own people so that there is no suffering, oppression or human rights violations,” he said.

Anwar said Malaysia was pursuing direct talks with Myanmar, including through his meetings with President Min Aung Hlaing in Bangkok and Beijing. He said Kuala Lumpur had opted for engagement rather than what he described as the United States and Europe’s refusal to negotiate directly with Myanmar.

On the legal status of Rohingya, Anwar told Opposition leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin that Malaysian law does not give them a separate status from other Myanmar nationals. He described the UNHCR’s presence in Malaysia as a “legacy issue” approved by a previous government.

He agreed that Malaysia should eventually handle eligibility and related decisions through its own government machinery.

Myanmar state media said nearly 10,000 migrants had been repatriated from Malaysia this year. Of them, 8,041 citizens were returned by air between January and August, while 1,476 arrived by ship outside Yangon on Sunday.