LANGKAWI: Police have detained 196 Rohingya migrants after their boat ran aground in Pantai Teluk Yu in Ayer Hangat here early this morning.
It is learnt that a police team led by Langkawi police chief Assistant Commissioner Shariman Ashari rushed to the scene at 3.25am upon learning of the arrival of a Rohingya boat.
A source said the team found a group of immigrants comprising men, women, boys and girls, including three infants at the scene.
"They were stranded next to a blue and red wooden boat that ran aground at the shore," said the source.
It was learnt that upon questioning, the migrants, who had no travel documents, claimed that they were from a refugee camp in Myanmar.
"All of them, aged between 3-months-old and 65 years, were taken to Langkawi Home Ministry's Complex for the documentation process before being handed over to the Immigration Department for further action," added the source.
Earlier today, Langkawi-chapter Malaysia Crime Prevention Foundation (MCPF) chairman Datuk Chen Liau Weng uploaded two pictures of illegal immigrants detained near a boat in Pantai Teluk Yu.
When contacted, Chen said he was informed by a friend in the area, claiming that some 200 Rohingya migrants had landed in Langkawi in the wee hours today.
"The boat ran aground at the Pantai Teluk Yu near a cement factory. There were men, women and children. I was told that there were about 200 of them," he said.
The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) had activated a search operation and intensified patrols to locate remaining migrants from Myanmar reportedly heading to Langkawi.
Its director-general Maritime Admiral Datuk Mohd Rosli Abdullah said information received by the MMEA indicated that two additional boats believed to be carrying illegal immigrants from Myanmar were still at sea, although their exact location remained unknown.
"This swift action followed the detention of 196 Myanmar migrants by police at Pantai Teluk Yu at 3.25am today, after their boat ran aground on the beach.
"The MMEA has deployed boats and ships to the landing site, conducted patrols around the northern waters of Langkawi and the country's borders, and mobilised aircraft for aerial surveillance.
"We have also increased radar monitoring through the Sea Surveillance System (SWASLA) to detect the PATI," he said in a statement.
He added that the MMEA was also in contact with Thai authorities to determine whether the movement of the two boats had been detected by their personnel.
"Up to the time of this press release, there has been no indication on the whereabouts of the two boats," said Rosli.
"The maritime community around Langkawi should immediately report any suspicious activity in the country's waters by calling 999 or contacting the Maritime Rescue Sub Centre (MRSC) Langkawi at 04-9662750 or 011-5892 5868."
He added that for the record, MMEA and other enforcement agencies had detained 2,089 migrants from Myanmar, who attempted to enter the country in 18 boats between 2010 and last year.
Rohingya refugees usually start their journey from either Myanmar or Bangladesh, where around one million of them live in squalid refugee camps.
Most refugees have fled a military crackdown in Myanmar in 2017, and thousands had attempted to start a new life in more affluent Asian nations, even if it meant embarking on risky voyages in overcrowded, rickety boats.
Malaysia has long been a favoured destination for the Rohingya, as it is Muslim-majority and already home to a large community.
The United Nations has described the Rohingya as "the most persecuted people in the world".
Up to the end of November last year, there were some 192,170 refugees and asylum-seekers registered with the United Nations in Malaysia.
Some 170,360 are from Myanmar, comprising some 111,410 Rohingyas, 27,840 Chins and 31,100 other ethnic groups from conflict areas or fleeing persecution in Myanmar.