4-2-2024 (KUALA LUMPUR) Over 40 exhausted and hungry Rohingya refugees have been recaptured by Malaysian police after a group of 131 migrants from Myanmar broke out of a detention centre, according to a senior police official on Sunday (Dec 4).
The breakout occurred on Thursday when 115 Rohingya migrants and 16 others, all men, rioted in their detention building and escaped from the Bidor temporary immigration centre in northern Perak state.
The Rohingya, who face persecution in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar, often seek refuge in affluent, Muslim-majority Malaysia or in refugee camps in Bangladesh. Many endure dangerous sea journeys lasting months to reach Malaysia by boat or attempt to cross the country’s porous border with Thailand.
When caught, they are typically sent to overcrowded and unsanitary detention centres, as reported by human rights groups.
Tragically, one Rohingya man was confirmed dead on Thursday as he was hit by a vehicle while trying to cross a highway in the darkness.
The 41 recaptured Rohingya men were found at a palm oil estate and in the forest near the towns of Tapah and Bidor after a tip-off from the public, said Perak police chief Mohamad Yusri Hassan Basri. He added, “We believe many more are hiding in the forest,” noting that all those arrested were “hungry and exhausted”.
Yusri stated that 136 police and immigration officers are currently searching the forest, rivers, and villages for the remaining escapees from this recent breakout.
This incident marks the second detention centre breakout of its kind in two years. In 2022, 528 Rohingya refugees escaped from a detention centre in northern Penang state. Six individuals lost their lives while attempting to cross a highway, and hundreds of others were subsequently recaptured.
In recent months, there has been a significant increase in ethnic Rohingya fleeing Myanmar. According to the United Nations, from mid-November to late January, 1,752 Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, arrived in Indonesia. The agency reported that this was the largest influx into the Muslim-majority country since 2015.
In 2022 alone, over 3,500 Rohingya individuals have attempted the perilous journey to Southeast Asian countries. The UN estimates that nearly 1,000 Rohingya have died or gone missing since the beginning of the year while trying to cross treacherous waters.
In Malaysia, more than 100,000 Rohingya people live on the fringes of society, with many engaged in illegal construction and low-paid jobs.
