KUALA PERLIS – The Immigration Department today relocated 517 Rohingya detainees from the Wawasan Negara camp in Langkawi, Kedah, to depots in Sg Bakap, Penang, and Bidor, Perak.
Director-General Datuk Khairul Dzaimee Daud said the detainees, aged in their 20s to 40s, have been at the camp since April last year.
“The reason for the transfer is to save on cost and logistics, including their food costs,” he told reporters.
He said the food costs were previously borne by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
“UNHCR ended their funding in August, which forced the Immigration Department to transfer the detainees.”
The Rohingya were tested for Covid-19 on May 28, he said.
They boarded a ferry from Langkawi to Kuala Perlis at 9.30am, and arrived about 11am. – Bernama, June 1, 2021
