A qualitative study examined how second-generation Rohingya refugees understand belonging and exclusion in Malaysia.
What researchers studied
A qualitative study examined how second-generation Rohingya refugees understand belonging and exclusion in Malaysia.
The researcher engaged 35 people living in Kuala Lumpur and surrounding urban districts who were born in Malaysia or had spent much of their youth there.
Life-story interviews, focus groups and participant observation explored daily mobility, social connections and access to services.
The analysis considered housing, employment, education, healthcare and legal status as interconnected parts of integration.
Its purpose was to understand lived experiences rather than estimate population-wide rates.
What they found
Participants described different relationships with a country many knew as home.
Some developed strong ties to Malaysian neighbours, while others depended more heavily on Rohingya networks.
Documentation and uncertain legal standing complicated access to employment, housing, education and healthcare.
The researcher identified selective inclusion and exclusion across everyday spaces.
One participant born in Malaysia hesitated to describe himself as Malaysian because his documents identified Myanmar.
Another, raised in a Malay community, expressed a stronger sense of Malaysian belonging despite lacking citizenship.
These contrasting accounts showed how social acceptance and formal legal recognition could diverge.
What it means
The findings suggest that integration involves more than language proficiency and friendships.
Stable access to services and legal recognition can shape whether community connections translate into secure opportunities.
The paper calls for more coherent refugee policy and attention to the needs of people experiencing displacement across generations.
It also highlights how refugees actively navigate constraints rather than simply experiencing them passively.
These conclusions concern the mechanisms described in interviews, not measured causal effects.
Important limitation
The purposive sample of 35 urban participants cannot represent all Rohingya refugees in Malaysia.
Rural experiences and those of other generations may differ substantially.
Interview accounts and observation offer detailed perspectives but cannot quantify national prevalence.
The policy implications therefore require corroboration through additional locations and research designs.
Source Information
Study: Second-generation Rohingya refugees in Malaysia: neither here nor there
Authors: Nur Nadia Lukmanulhakim
Journal / Source: Frontiers in Sociology
Published: 10 November 2026
