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KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has stepped up patrols in the waters off Langkawi in the northern straits of Melaka and the Andaman sea following reports that a boat holding dozens of Rohingya refugees is heading towards its shores.
Malaysia Maritime Enforcement Agency commander Nurulazme Zakariah told Channel NewsAsia that the authorities have stepped up patrols since Sunday (Apr 1) afternoon but there had been no sighting of the boat so far.
The Rohingya boat stopped at Thailand’s western coast in Krabi province early on Sunday due to bad weather.
Images showed the passengers being interviewed on shore and then getting back into the boat before departing.
Krabi governor Kitibodee Pravitra confirmed that the people travelling on the boat were Rohingya but did not know where they had come from, AFP reported.
“The initial report said they were docking near Koh Lanta this morning to avoid the storm,” he said, referring to an island popular with tourists. “They want to go to Malaysia.”
The Rohingya on board would continue towards their destination, he said.
He said that there were about 56 women, men and children on board.
Mr Kitibodee also said that the Thai authorities had distributed food, clothes and fuel to the refugees before letting them continue their journey to Malaysia around noon on Sunday, news agency Bernama reported.
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