Malaysia began repatriating around 1,500 Myanmar nationals on Sept. 29, launching the first phase of a return program that has raised concerns from rights groups.
The Straits Times reports that the group is the first of 5,000 Myanmar nationals Malaysia says have agreed to “voluntary” repatriation from detention centres.
Dozens of buses arrived under police escort at the Majlis Perbandaran Manjung stadium near the Lumut naval base in north-western Malaysia, AFP correspondents saw.
Reporters were not allowed inside the grounds.
The migrants were expected to be processed before being transported to the nearby naval base and taken to Myanmar by ship.
It was not immediately clear on Sept. 29 how many in the group were Rohingya, and Malaysian authorities did not divulge the number.
But the persecuted Muslim community make up two-thirds of the 190.000 Myanmar refugees and asylum seekers in the country, according to the United Nations.
