1515843 (Refugee)

The Administrative Appeals Tribunal considered the application of a Malaysian national for a protection visa. The applicant claimed to have faced danger from pirates in coastal Sabah, Malaysia, and that authorities from peninsular Malaysia did not adequately address security concerns in Tawau. The Tribunal accepted Malaysia as the applicant's country of nationality and receiving country for the purposes of the Migration Act 1958.

The primary legal issue before the Tribunal was whether the applicant had a well-founded fear of persecution for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group, or political opinion, and whether there was a real chance of persecution in Malaysia. Specifically, the Tribunal had to determine if the applicant's claims of pirate attacks and the lack of effective protection constituted a real risk of significant harm, and if internal relocation within Malaysia would be a reasonable and practicable option to avoid such risk. The Tribunal also considered the relevance of country information and policy guidelines in assessing the applicant's claims.

The Tribunal found the applicant's claims regarding past incidents with pirates and local demands to be generally credible and consistent with country information concerning pirate activity on the east coast of Sabah. However, the Tribunal noted that the applicant stated nothing further had happened to him after moving to Tawau. Applying section 36(2B)(a) of the Act, the Tribunal considered whether it would be reasonable for the applicant to relocate to an area of Malaysia where there would not be a real risk of significant harm. Drawing guidance from High Court judgments, the Tribunal assessed the reasonableness of relocation based on the applicant's specific circumstances.

Ultimately, the Tribunal affirmed the decision not to grant the applicant a protection visa, concluding that the applicant did not satisfy the criteria under section 36(2) of the Act.