A group of Burmese social workers have set up a data collection centre in various cities around the country to collect information on potential asylum seekers for submission to the United Nations refugee centre.

According to Ghiyathudeen, a Burmese volunteer worker, various representatives and temporary offices have been set up in major cities including Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Ipoh, Kuantan and Johor, to enable the collection of information from undocumented Rohingyas.

"We collect information and verify the claims of people from 17 districts in [the Burmese state of] Arakan. We are now in a better position to identify them so it will avoid a situation of non-Rohingyas applying and given identification letters.

"The UN High Commission for Refugees have allowed us a period of one month to do this," said Ghiya when contacted today.

The Rohingyas are a predominantly Muslim community who fled Burma alleging ethnic and religious persecution by the Rangoon military regime.

An estimated 10,000 Rohingyas are currently living in Malaysia, but because of their undocumented status, they now face the risk of arrest under new immigration laws which provide for whipping and jailing of illegal immigrants.

Less police harassment

Since late last month, the UNHCR had agreed to issue the undocumented Rohingyas with "humanitarian letters" to serve as a form of identification.

To date, Ghiyathudeen said the data collection drive had succeeded in gathering information of some 4,000 Rohingyas living in Malaysia.

"We have collection information of 1,900 persons in Penang and another 400 to 500 in Johor.

The others are from other areas such as the Klang Valley, as well as Terengganu and Pahang," he said, adding that these data will be submitted to the UNHCR tomorrow.

In return, Ghiyathudeen said the UNHCR had issued a total of 312 letters based on earlier submissions.

Asked if the letters had been accepted by local enforcement officials as identification, Ghiyathudeen said in some cases, police officers had released detained persons after being informed of their predicament.

"It has been quite encouraging. Some people are still harassed by the police but some have been released. There are still instances that Rohingyas have been arrested and sent to illegal immigrants' detention camps but not all have been prosecuted in court," he said.

The social worker also said several doubtful cases submitted to them have been withheld for further verification.

"In cases that we are not 100 percent sure, we re-interview them. We have received some cases from other Burmese groups, not from Arakan, and we have held these back," he added.

From press reports, close to 100 Burmese nationals have been charged and sentenced to jail and whipping, after being found guilty of entering Malaysia illegally.