[Tee tiong huat]

Malaysia doubles patrols to find Myanmar migrant boats after nearly 200 detained

KUALA LUMPUR: M'sia's coast guard on Friday (Jan 3) is doubling patrols in waters to locate boats carrying undocumented Myanmar migrants after almost 200 were detained on an island in northwestern M'sian state of Kedah. 

Coast guard said police had detained 196 undocumented Myanmar migrants in early hours of Friday after their boat came ashore on a beach on resort island of Langkawi. "Based on info the coast guard received, there are two more boats carrying undocumented Myanmar migrants at sea but their exact location is still unknown," the coast guard said in a statement.

M'sian Coast Guard director-general Mohd Rosli Abdullah said authorities were patrolling northern waters off Langkawi & border areas had arranged for air surveillance to be conducted to locate the boats, coast guard is also in contact with Thai authorities to identify movement of the boats carrying migrants, Mohd Rosli said.

On Friday, local English daily Star reported about 200 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar had come ashore on Langkawi. Rohingya are mainly Muslim minority in majority Buddhist Myanmar, coast guard did not specify statement whether is migrants were Rohingya.