updated version

Hundreds of asylum seekers gathered outside the United Nations refugee agency in Kuala Lumpur in the hope of securing refugee papers before the amnesty period for illegal immigrants in Malaysia expires on Wednesday.

Some 150 Burmese Rohingyas arrived at the office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) at 4am today to plead for assistance, saying they feared arrest and stringent penalties under the amended Immigration Act that will take effect from Thursday.

They were later joined by about 50 Acehnese asylum seekers.

Groups of asylum seekers were periodically allowed into the UNHCR compound to be interviewed by UN officials.

The Rohingyas are a predominantly Muslim ethnic community who fled Burma alleging persecution by the Rangoon military government. An estimated 10,000 Rohingyas are currently living in Malaysia, and many have been here for at least 10 years.

A difficult life

A Burmese asylum seeker, Mohd. Kusair, 27, who has lived in Malaysia since 1991, said that the Burmese Rohingyas community here faced severe difficulties.

"We would be shot by the military if we went back to Burma because we are Muslims, but we are also not accepted in Malaysia. Employers in Malaysia refuse to hire us because we don't have the right papers," he said.

"Our children who are born here can't get birth certificates, so they can't go to school. Pregnant women, the sick and the elderly can't get proper treatment in hospitals."

Kusair was caught and detained at the Semenyih detention camp for two years. He was later moved to another camp in Negeri Sembilan for five months, where he claimed inmates were inadequately fed and subjected to harsh punishment.

Another Burmese, Abu Sidik, 28, a machine-operator at a construction site, pleaded for Malaysia to accept his community.

"We would rather stay in Malaysia than go back home. We have children who were born and raised here, they consider this country their home," he said.

"We have lived here for many years already and we would like to ask the Malaysian government to allow us to continue living here, we have nowhere else to go."

Mohd. Abu Tahir, 21, a street vendor who sells books on Islam, echoed his countryman's desire to live in Malaysia.

"We have no reason to go back to Burma. Even if we went back, we would have no place to live. Our parents, brothers and sisters have all moved here and we have been living here for years now. We have no place in Burma," he said.

'No choice'

Several persons claiming to be from Aceh said even the threat of severe punishment would not deter more asylum seekers from attempting to enter Malaysia illegally.

Fatimah Abdullah, a teacher from Aceh, said she had arrived only six days ago with her three children, aged between two and eight years.

"My husband was tortured and killed. I have no choice but to come here. We know that we may be whipped (as illegal immigrants), but what is whipping if the alternative means a bullet in the head?" she asked.

An Acehnese man said once asylum seekers enter Malaysia, it is impossible for them to return to Indonesia.

"Those who have left (Aceh) for Malaysia are considered to be rebels. People are killed and (their bodies are) then burnt," he said, displaying a photograph of a relative who he claimed has suffered this fate.

About 10,000 Acehnese are said to be living in refugee-like circumstances in Malaysia. Most claim to be fleeing from torture and ill-treatment by the Indonesian military.

UNHCR Protection Officer Shinji Kubo was not available for comment.

Act applies to all

Meanwhile, Immigration Department Director-General Mohd Jamal Kamdi said no exception would be made for asylum seekers under the Immigration (Amended) Act 2002, which provides for severe penalties against illegal immigrants.

"Malaysia is not a signatory to the (1951 UN) Refugee Convention. We will not make any exception," said Jamal during a press conference in Kuala Lumpur today.

Under the new provisions in the Immigration Act, illegal immigrants risk mandatory whipping and a maximum fine of RM10,000 or a jail term not exceeding five years.