The government has also announced plans to pursue the return of 5,000 Rohingya refugees from Malaysia and 300,000 Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh through discussions with Myanmar’s military junta. This demonstrates that Malaysia is fluent in the language of international law, non-refoulement and the rights of the displaced people. Denied nationality, they were deprived of legal protection, education, healthcare, political participation and employment. Statelessness left them vulnerable to arbitrary detention, exploitation, exclusion from formal refugee status, and susceptible to hate campaigns painting people as ‘illegitimate’ or ‘removable’. Any renewed regional engagement with Myanmar must therefore place the restoration of Rohingya nationality and meaningful participation of Rohingya representatives at its centre.