Swap deal draws attention to Malaysia's refugees

While the rest of Malaysia sleeps, a group of about 100 Christian refugees from Burma sings hymns and prays for a brighter future, in a makeshift church in the heart of Kuala Lumpur.


Divine intervention aside, there is hope that a recent migrant-swap deal with Australia will shine the spotlight on Malaysia's historically poor treatment of refugees, and perhaps bring
about some real change.

But once the two-hour midnight service ends, the members of the congregation turn their attention to the worldly problem of how to avoid arrest and harassment at the hands of security officials in a country that does not yet recognise asylum seekers.


"Getting stopped by police is very much the norm for us. Sometimes we are let off if the officer is kind, but mostly we're not so lucky," said 20-year-old Sarah Aye, who fled Burma three years ago and now leads the church service...