The list revealed that one has to be either a refugee or meet the complementary protection criteria in the Migration Act 1958. Well-founded fear of persecution may contribute to the success of an application as well.



The Migration Act 1958 states that a person has a well-founded fear of persecution if the person fears being persecuted for reasons of race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion.



Foreign Affairs and Human Rights expert Dr. Jean Jonathon Bogais told SBS that the rise in Malaysian asylum seekers is due to "increasing Islamisation as well as ongoing tensions between the dominant ethnic Malay population and other minorities".



"All they see is fear for the future... which is probably the biggest justification for the migration," he added.