Malaysian authorities yesterday detained more than 100 Rohingya Muslim asylum seekers who had gathered outside the office of the United Nations refugee agency in Kuala Lumpur, after being evicted from their settlement in the northern state of Penang.
According to a report by the New Straits Times, the group was transferred in four police vehicles from outside the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at around 8:20 p.m. yesterday, along with “luggage and personal belongings.”
The paper today quoted Kuala Lumpur police chief Fadil Marsus as saying that 113 refugees, including 110 Rohingya, were being held at police headquarters. Fadil also said checks conducted during the documentation process at the police headquarters found that all the Rohingya refugees possessed valid UNHCR documents.
The refugees said they had traveled to the UNHCR office after being driven out of their homes by local residents in the northern state of Penang on Sunday, and were seeking advice on resettlement, Reuters reported.
The news agency cited Penang police as saying that the Rohingya had “voluntarily moved” to Kuala Lumpur with the assistance of state and federal authorities.
