1603603 (Refugee)

This matter concerned an appeal by a Malaysian man against a decision to refuse him a visa. The applicant arrived in Australia in October 2015 and claimed protection based on his participation in the Bersih protest movement and alleged knowledge of secrets that made him a person of interest to the Malaysian government. He feared arrest, fines, and the consequences of becoming an ex-offender. The delegate had previously refused the visa, finding that while high-profile opposition leaders faced persecution in Malaysia, general opposition members did not face significant risk.

The legal issues before the Tribunal were whether the applicant met the criteria for a protection visa, specifically considering the complementary protection criterion under section 36(2)(aa) of the Act. This required the Tribunal to determine if there were substantial grounds for believing that, as a necessary and foreseeable consequence of removal to Malaysia, the applicant would suffer significant harm. The Tribunal was also required to consider relevant policy guidelines and country information assessments.

The Tribunal accepted that the applicant was a member of the People's Cooperative of Malaysia but did not accept his claims to hold a significant position within it, noting his vague answers regarding its operations and leadership. Furthermore, the Tribunal found that the "secrets" the applicant claimed to possess, namely the names of the Cooperative's leadership, were not genuinely secret and their disclosure would not make him a person of interest to the government. Country information indicated that while high-profile opposition figures faced harassment, general members of opposition parties faced a low risk of discrimination. Consequently, the Tribunal affirmed the delegate's decision.