Three more boats, believed to be loaded with illegal immigrants, were detected by a helicopter conducting border patrols near Pulau Jarak, Perak, yesterday.

 

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Shahidan Kassim said the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) and Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) had been alerted and directed to sent assets to the location.

 

"We know more will come and we urge and hope those countries which have expressed concern will accept the illegal immigrants or refugees," he said when met at a technical and vocational school's sport carnival in Kangar, Perlis.

 

The arrival of the latest load of boat people comes after Malaysia and Indonesia agreed to temporarily host them for a year before resettling them in another country.

 

A total 1,158 Bangladeshi illegal immigrants and Rohingya refugees were reported to have landed in Langkawi on May 10 while 10,000 more were said to be still at sea and attempting to land at nearby countries.

 

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, prior to this, had also directed RMN and MMEA to help MERCY Malaysia to send humanitarian aid to them via land or sea. 

 

Meanwhile, Shahidan, who is also National Security Council chairman, when asked on Malaysia's assurance on helping the migrants, stressed that Rohingyas who had been sent to detention depots would not be chased out but would be allowed to stay in the country for at least a year before being sent elsewhere. 

 

On Wednesday, Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar said 1,369 illegals at the Immigration Detention Depot in Belantik would be moved to four other detention depots to provide more comfortable accommodation to new Rohingya arrivals.

 

Wan Junaidi said there were 12 Immigration detention depots in the

peninsula, and if necessary, all would be used to house Rohingya refugees.