This follows the Court of Appeal’s decision to dismiss the NGOs’ fresh stay application pending the outcome of a judicial review application before the High Court.

Justice Abdul Karim Abdul Jalil, who led a three-member bench, said there were no special circumstances to grant the stay.

“There is an affidavit filed by the immigration director-general (stating) that all the refugees want to return home,” he said in a proceeding conducted online today.

The other judges on the bench were justices See Mee Chun and Hashim Hamzah.

Amnesty International Malaysia and Asylum Access Malaysia had filed a fresh stay application after the High Court on Dec 13 lifted an interim stay granted last year to prevent the deportation of about 1,200 Myanmar nationals.

The NGOs also filed a suit against the immigration director-general and the home minister to challenge the planned deportation of 1,200 Myanmar nationals.

In February 2021, the Kuala Lumpur High Court granted an interim stay on their deportation.

The NGOs claimed that despite the court order, 1,086 Myanmar nationals were deported with the assistance of the Myanmar navy.

A total of 114 Myanmar nationals remained in Malaysia and are the subject of continued court proceedings.

The immigration director-general and the home minister had applied to lift the stay on the basis that the 114 had signed consent forms requesting to be returned to their country.

Senior federal counsel Shamsul Bolhassan and M Kogilambigai represented the immigration director-general and the home minister, while lawyer Lim Wei Jiet appeared for the NGOs during today’s proceedings.