138 detained Myanmar nationals in Malaysia set to return home

A total of 138 detained Myanmar nationals in Malaysia have been set to return home next Monday, official sources said Sunday.

Under the arrangement of the Kanbawza Brighter Future Myanmar Foundation, the 138 detained Myanmar nationals, who have been issued Certificate of Identity, will return to Myanmar on a Myanmar international airline from the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, Myanmar's Foreign Ministry was quoted as saying.

There are now 2,294 Myanmar nationals detained for various reasons in 11 camps in Malaysia, the sources added. The 138 people are the first batch to return.

In March 2015, a warship of Myanmar navy carried back 102 illegal Myanmar immigrants from Malaysia who entered Malaysia illegally and were kept at detention camps as they have no certificate of identification to be able to return home.

There are more than 400,000 Myanmar immigrants reportedly working in Malaysia, of whom about 300,000 are legal workers, while about 40,000 are illegal with the rest being in various process for refugee status.

Meanwhile, Myanmar authorities are cooperating with its Malaysian counterparts to protect Myanmar citizens working in the Southeast Asian member country where Myanmar citizens are often targeted victims of violence and murder in Malaysia.

In September 2013, Myanmar started to recall its citizens detained in Malaysia for working illegally there. XINHUA