Penang police have denied an Associated Press (AP) report that a boat crammed with more than 500 refugees, likely Rohingya and Bangladeshis, was found off Penang island today.

 

George Town OCPD Mior Faridalatrash Wahid denied the report which quoted an unnamed person who was reportedly involved in the situation, but not authorised to speak to the media.

 

“Negative. No information so far,” Mior Faridalatrash said in a WhatsApp message to Malaysiakini when asked to confirm the AP report.

 

When asked, Southwest OCPD Lai Fah Hin, who oversees the region covering the southern tip of the island, from Bayan Baru to Balik Pulau, said he had yet to receive any information about the matter.

 

First admiral of Malaysia’s Maritime Enforcement Agency  (MMEA) Tan Kok Wee was also unable to shed any light on this.

 

On Tuesday, about 1,600 refugees landed in Langkawi and Indonesia . The MMEA and its Indonesian counterpart have said they will turn away vessels considered seaworthy.

 

However, the authorities have claimed they will make sure the boats have provisions before sending them out to sea again.

 

The Rohingya Muslims, labeled by the UN as one of the world's most persecuted minorities, have for decades suffered from state-sanctioned discrimination in Buddhist-majority Myanmar. 

 

They are denied citizenship by national law and considered stateless, although many have found homes in Malaysia and other Muslim majority countries.

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