A sustained campaign of online hate speech and disinformation against Rohingya refugees in Malaysia, which began in late April 2026, has escalated into real-world violence and displacement, forcing over a hundred refugees from their homes in the fishing village of Kuala Muda (in the northern state of Penang) on 27 July after local residents posted signs demanding they leave. The crisis has shuttered at least nine community schools for refugee children, with students advised to avoid wearing uniforms to reduce the risk of harassment. Malaysia is home to around 126,000 UNHCR-registered Rohingya — Muslims who fled persecution in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar — but the country is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, leaving refugees without legal protection, the right to work, or access to formal education, and making them especially vulnerable to exploitation. The situation has been further inflamed by a disinformation campaign falsely claiming refugees were demanding land and special rights, while Malaysian officials have signalled a hardening stance: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced on 30 July that Myanmar had agreed to accept the return of 5,000 Rohingya asylum seekers, a move that drew alarm from rights groups who said the Myanmar government could not be trusted to guarantee their safety.