Rohingya boat incident leaves 24 feared dead off Malaysian coast

ThaigerPublished: 11:26, 27 July 2020| Updated: 11:39, 27 July 2020

172 1 minute read

A Rohingya boat incident has left at least 24 people feared to have drowned off the coast of Malaysia after a sole survivor swam to shore on the resort island of Langkawi. The 27 year old, named Nor Hossain was detained by police after arriving on the island. A search and rescue operation was launched using 2 aircraft and 2 boats but officials say no bodies or survivors have been found.

Such boats have been making similar journeys with the hopes of arriving safely in Malaysia as it remains a favorite destination for Myanmar’s Rohingya Muslims who have historically been persecuted in their largely Buddhist home country. However, due to Covid-19, authorities in Malaysia have been trying to stop the boats from entering due to the fear of potential virus transmissions which has angered rights groups.

But that hasn’t stopped the asylum seekers, as many in overcrowded refugee camps in Bangladesh’s Cox Bazar district have taken to boats directed towards Malaysia and Indonesia. As many as 700,000 Rohingya Muslims fled a military crackdown in Myanmar just 3 years ago which landed them in such overcrowded refugee camps.

According to the UNHCR, such countries as Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand do not recognise refugees legally making such asylum seekers fall into the illegal migrant or stateless persons categories.

SOURCE: Bangkok Post