News Desk :
Malaysia deported 5,450 Bangladeshis among 59,114 nationals of different countries after arrest on various charges.
Law enforcers of the country detained the undocumented immigrants during 2019-December 2010 period on charges of committing different crimes. They are now waiting in various detention camps for deportation.
Malaysia’s Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin informed this in a statement issued on Tuesday.
The statement also said some 37,038 immigrants from various countries have been deported during January to December in 2020.
Meanwhile, some detained 1,200 Rohingyga people who had been staying ilegally in Malaysia will be deported, said immigration director-general Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud.
It may be mentioned that Malaysia’s government will repatriate 1,200 Myanmar migrants next week despite a military coup in their home country, but has assured that they will not include minority Muslim Rohingya refugees or those registered with the UN refugee agency.
But the UN High Commissioner for Refugees voiced concern Tuesday that there may be vulnerable women and children among the group. Myanmar’s leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, was detained as the military seized power on February 1, sparking protests in the country.
Malaysia’s immigration chief, Khairul Dzaimee Daud, said in a statement late Monday that the detainees will be deported February 23 on Myanmar navy ships.
He said the 1,200 were held for offenses including not having valid travel documents, overstaying and violating their social visit passes.
“There are no UNHCR cardholders or ethnic Rohingya involved in the repatriation. It is just part of a usual program to deport immigrants in our detention depots,” Khairul Dzaimee said.
The department said Malaysia repatriated 37,038 migrants last year, including 3,322 from Myanmar. This was down from 59,114 in 2019, as many countries shut their borders due to the Covid-19 pandemic, it added.
