Over 200 Rohingya refugees have reportedly landed near Teluk Nibong beach in Langkawi early this morning.
The Star quoted a nearby villager who spotted the wooden boat at around 5am and alerted the Malaysian Marine Enforcement Authorities (MMEA).
"There were about 250 of them. One hundred of them were still in the water attempting to swim to the shore.
"The rest still remained on the boat," the villager was quoted as saying.
When contacted, Langkawi district police chief Mohd Iqbal Ibrahim said questions about the incident should be directed to the MMEA.
A source from MMEA, however, said that only the Immigration Department is authorised to confirm any matters pertaining to Rohingya refugees found to have entered Malaysia.
On April 3, 2018, the MMEA had intercepted a boat ferrying 60 Rohingya refugees bound for Langkawi, having escaped harsh conditions in their home land and camps in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh.
Malaysia is not a party to the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.
However, UN data shows that there are some 178,990 refugees and asylum seekers registered with UNHCR in Malaysia as of February this year. - Mkini
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