Second group of Rohingya arrive in Malaysia within weeks

Forty-one Rohingya were found on a Malaysian beach Monday, police said, the second group of the Muslim minority to arrive in the country within weeks, stoking fears of a looming exodus.

Many Rohingya have been seeking in recent weeks to leave by sea from Bangladesh, where they live in squalid refugee camps after fleeing their mostly Buddhist homeland Myanmar, before the monsoon season starts in earnest.

Security forces have prevented hundreds from departing for Malaysia with people smugglers on fishing boats. But last month 34 Rohingya arrived in the northern Malaysian state of Perlis, the first group believed to have landed in the country in almost year.

The latest batch, which consisted entirely of men, were found Monday on the same beach as the previous boatload, local police chief Noor Mushar Mohamad told AFP.

"This is definitely the work of human smuggling syndicates working with local syndicates," he said.

"I fear there could be more Rohingya arrivals unless maritime enforcement agencies step up patrols urgently."