COVID-19 pandemic is now a global crisis, with the number of known cases climbing daily and millions of people stranded at home. As countries toil to preserve the lives of their people, economies are grinding to a halt. At that dismal time, Malaysia is going through a vast political crisis with a new leader, and several states have new governments. In this vein, the present study aims at shedding how Malaysian responses to the COVID-19 pandemic? This study adopted a qualitative approach by using the secondary data collected from the journal, the official website of the government sector, NGOs, authorized bodies, and newspapers. Our finding shows although Malaysia had COVID-19 during the political crisis, a new ruling party is competent to manage the issue accordingly with the Ministry of Health and the National Security Council plays a vital role in the management of the pandemic. The government has taken various kinds of measures to ensure the pandemic to be reduced, and economic recession could be minimizing that benefit Malaysian and non-citizenship notably to vulnerable with the amalgamate by numerous NGOs.

<p class="abstrak">The humanitarian crisis in Syria has impacted the instability in various aspects of security as many as six million of its people have been resettled in foreign countries, including Malaysia. In the survival of protecting themselves, there are obstacles and difficulties encountered in new places. Concerning this matter, the primary purpose of this study sheds light on which elements in the human security paradigm affected Syrian refugees’ survivability in Malaysia. This study was a case study using a qualitative approach. We conducted in-depth interviews with two Global Peace Malaysia (NGOs) officers, three Syrian refugees and participant observations around Kajang, Cyberjaya, Ampang, and Shah Alam. Our findings show the survival patterns experienced by Syrian Muslim refugees in Malaysia in the context of human security, which includes personal, political, economic, and community. To protect the refugees’ social security, precisely, we would like to suggest the Government of Malaysia come up with an individual action plan to address the refugee-related issues. Also, we recommend the NGOs provide a channel to lodge complaints and psychiatry aid to the refugees, aside from focusing on food, health, and education.</p><p class="abstrak"><em>Krisis kemanusian di Syria telah memberi impak ke atas ketidakstabilan dari pelbagai aspek keselamatan sehinggakan enam juta lebih daripada rakyatnya menjadi pelarian di negara-negara luar termasuk berada di Malaysia. Dalam survival untuk menyelamatkan diri terdapat pelbagai halangan dan kesukaran yang perlu dihadapi di tempat baharu. Justeru, permasalahan utama kajian ini adalah untuk mengenal pasti elemen keselamatan insan ya</em><em> </em><em>ng manakah terjejas dalam survival pelarian Syria di Malaysia? Kajian menggunakan reka bentuk kajian kes menerusi pendekatan kualitatif. Kaedah temu bual mendalam bersama dua orang pegawai NGO Global Peace Malaysia, tiga orang pelarian Syria dan pemerhatian turut serta di sekitar Kajang, Cyberjaya, Ampang dan Shah Alam telah dijalankan. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan bentuk-bentuk survival yang dialami oleh pelarian Syria di Malaysia dalam konteks keselamatan insan adalah melibatkan personal, politik, ekonomi dan komuniti. Dalam melindungi keselamatan insan pelarian, kajian menyarankan agar Kerajaan Malaysia menyediakan satu pelan tindakan khas untuk mengendalikan isu-isu berbangkit mengenai pelarian agar tidak wujudnya penganiayaan terhadap mereka. Kajian turut mencadangkan kepada NGO selain dari bantuan makanan, kesihatan dan pendidikan, NGO boleh menumpukan kepada dua lagi bahagian iaitu menyediakan saluran untuk membuat aduan dan bantuan psikatari.</em></p>

Background and Purpose: NGOs have become the most vital actors in meeting refugees’ needs in Malaysia; alas, most of these concerns cover basic needs such as food, health care, and education. In this regard, this study investigates other forms of NGOs assistance that ought to be provided to Malaysia's refugee communities to enhance living standards.   Methodology: This study employs a qualitative approach consisting of semi-structured interviews with Somalian, Rohingya, Pakistani and Syrian refugees. Data were collected during observation trips in Penang, Kedah, Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, and Johor to comprehensively understand these diasporic communities, notably regarding the challenges refugees face in Malaysia.   Findings: The data indicated that refugee communities are significantly in need of proper and accessible channels through which they might share their grievances, temporary shelters, mental health care, and language classes. The team concluded that these forms of assistance ought to be made available to all refugee communities in Malaysia. Without such forms of assistance from NGOs, refugees' lived realities are made invariably more difficult; this is in addition to their vulnerability to forces that threaten their security.   Contributions: This paper provides insights into the needs of refugees in Malaysia based on interviews and observations conducted with them. Based on the findings, this research provides recommendations to NGOs to ameliorate life necessities for refugee communities.   Keywords: Humanitarian assistance, Malaysia, NGOs, refugees, UNHCR.   Cite as: Nazri, A. S., Talib@Khalid, K. A., Sulaiman, N., & Gidah, M. E. (2022). Untangling the needs of refugees in Malaysia: The way forward.  Journal of Nusantara Studies, 7(1), 196-220. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol7iss1pp196-220

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Ruang kemanusiaan merupakan salah satu konsep dalam bidang ilmu hubungan antarabangsa. Konotasi ruang kemanusiaan merujuk kepada keupayaan pekerja kemanusiaan menjalankan aktiviti bantuan kemanusiaan di persekitaran operasi. Namun, konsep ini dilihat hanya dibincangkan dan diberi tumpuan dalam persekitaran yang mempunyai konflik peperangan seperti di Syria, Yaman dan Gaza kerana di sana terdapat pelbagai ancaman daripada pengganas, tentera atau pemerintah negara itu sendiri yang membantutkan aktiviti pengedaran bantuan NGO kepada mangsa terjejas. Kajian ini mempunyai dua matlamat iaitu untuk mengenal pasti bagaimana tindak balas kerajaan Malaysia sebagai sebuah negara aman dalam memberi ruang kemanusiaan kepada NGO bagi membantu pelarian di Malaysia dan adakah konsep ini relevan untuk diperbahaskan di dalam persekitaran aman? Pendekatan kualitatif dengan kaedah temu bual bersama lapan orang informan terpilih yang terlibat secara langsung dalam isu pelarian di Malaysia dan pemerhatian turut serta bersama aktiviti kemanusiaan telah diaplikasikan bagi mengumpul data primer kajian. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan NGO mempunyai ruang yang optimis untuk beroperasi dan menjalankan aktiviti membantu pelarian kerana tidak wujud sebarang halangan daripada kerajaan Malaysia. Sebaliknya, dapatan kajian menunjukkan terdapat pelbagai bentuk kolaborasi di antara NGO dan kerajaan di dalam projek khusus memperkasakan bantuan dalam kalangan pelarian. Kajian ini juga mendapati walaupun ruang kemanusiaan selalu dipolemikkan di dalam senario konflik peperangan, namun konsep ini masih relevan untuk dibahas dan diaplikasi di dalam situasi geopolitik yang tidak mempunyai konflik seperti di Malaysia. Kata kunci: Bantuan kemanusiaan; kerajaan Malaysia; NGO; pelarian; ruang kemanusiaan