At the same time, many Cham people from Kampong Cham and surrounding areas in central Cambodia fled the regime overland to camps in Thailand hoping to seek asylum in Malaysia due to sense of similar religious affiliations towards Malaysia as a Muslim-majority country as well as having distant family ties in places like Kelantan.

[3] The Malaysian embassy in Phnom Penh was re-opened on 26 November 1991 following the signing of the Paris Peace Accord on 23 October 1991 and establishment of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia.

[6] On 14 April 1994, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad arrived in the Cambodian capital for a three-day official visit and invited Cambodia to consider becoming a member of ASEAN.

[18] Cambodians were not exempt from similar treatment, and many of their maids were also treated badly by their Malaysian employers or immigration officers who had their documents held for years after being cheated by recruitment agents in the country.

[24] The issues led to protest and criticism from various human rights groups in Cambodia who demanded the Cambodian government stop sending domestic workers until Malaysia adhered strictly to human rights,[25] although many Cambodians continued to explore job opportunities, mainly as domestic workers, in the hope of earning more money than they could at their home country.

[29] On 29 November 2017, the Cambodian government signed a Memorandum of Agreement to appoint the Malaysian Association of Foreign Maid Agencies (PAPA) as its representative to monitor the safety and welfare of its citizens returning to work as domestic workers in Malaysia.

[30] Each workers will be given a smartphone with security application by Malaysian Private Employment Agency and guidelines for hiring maids will also be provided to ensure that their welfare and safety are assured throughout the time.