A few days ago, we reported on the detention in Malaysia of around a hundred Rohingya refugees - a Muslim minority who fled violent persecution in their native Burma (now Myanmar) - whilst they were seeking asylum and protection outside the United Nations office in the country's capital, Kuala Lumpur. According to Reuters witnesses at the scene, four police lorries detained the asylum seekers - including women and children - along with their belongings, and took them to an unknown location.
It appears that all of them have been released by the Malaysian authorities. According to the new Reuters report, the 109 refugees are being rehoused in various parts of the country, as they all hold valid UNHCR documentation.
However, all this is taking place in a sort of legal limbo for the country. Malaysia is not a signatory to the UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and regards asylum seekers as illegal immigrants, and the Malaysian Minister for Foreign Affairs himself has this week called on the government to clarify whether it will allow UNHCR to operate nationwide without first imposing stricter controls on identity documents.