MALAYSIA is to prevent the entry into its waters of ships or boats bearing Rohingya illegal immigrants to avert social problems and security issues, said the National Security Council, the Bernama news agency reports.


PHUKET: The Royal Thai Navy intercepted a boat laden with 400 Rohingya and Bangladeshis off the coast of Thailand this afternoon and provided them with food and water.

''The people on board told us they wanted to continue on to Malaysia,'' a Navy spokesperson based in Satun province told Phuketwan.

Photographs from the scene showed people crammed together on the decks in appalling conditions. Telephone calls from the vessels have reported deaths and fears of starvation.

Seven boats are said to be adrift in the region, packed with perhaps 2000 people.

Human traffickers appear to have left the people to their fate following a crackdown on jungle camps in Thailand.

According to the Navy spokesperson, the passengers cried out ''Malaysia! Malaysia!'' when asked where they wanted to go.

The encounter took place about nine miles off Thailand, not far from the border with Malaysia.

However, Malaysia has announced that it is not allowing any boats carrying would-be refugees to land in the country, pushing them back to sea instead.

''Rice, water, snacks and other food were delivered to the vessel by the Navy and by fishing boats and media vessels,'' the Navy spokesperson said.

He added that a fishing vessel reported the location of the boat about 12.30pm and the Navy vessel reached the scene about 2pm.

This afternoon the Governor of Satun, Dejrat Simsiri. was organising engineers to go to the vessel to fix the engine so the passengers could choose a destination.

However, the people - fleeing from persecution in Burma or poverty in Bangladesh - appear to be unwanted in South East Asian waters and beyond.

This boat may have already been turned away from Malaysia, according to one unconfirmed report.

A 15-nation conference has been scheduled for May 29 but that could come too late for some on the seven boats said to be stranded at sea.

The Commander of Royal Thai Navy 3, Vice Admiral Saiyan Prasongsamret, said the boat was three miles from the border with Malaysia, between the resort island of Langkawi and the Thai national park at Taratao island.

''We will be making helicopter drops of food, water and medicine and anything else they need,'' he told Phuketwan this afternoon.

''The passengers have said they want to go to Malaysia.''

Phil Robertson, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch, said this afternoon: ''Malaysia and Thailand are playing a game of marine 'ping pong' with this boat and putting the lives of all those on board unnecessarily at risk.

''It's time for the two governments to end their inhumane policy to push off boats to the sea, and agree to bring these people ashore, provide them with urgently needed humanitarian assistance, and permit UNHCR and other agencies access to help them and protect their rights.

''It appears that both Malaysia and Thailand erroneously think that if they accept this and other boats now off their coasts, they will somehow be inundated with more Rohingya and Bangladeshis.

''Nothing could be further from the truth, because authoritative reports are coming out of Arakan state in Burma and Cox's Bazaar that the boat departures have stopped.

''The Thai crackdown on the people smuggling rackets and 'ransom for release' camps has worked to stop the inflow - now it's time for these countries to receive those at sea and work out an appropriate burden sharing arrangement between Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia to help these boat people.

''With Thailand now joining Malaysia and Indonesia in refusing to let these boats land, where in the world can these 6000 to 8000 Rohingya and Bangladeshi boat people go?

''They are truly forsaken. Instead of mobilising their navies to mount urgently needed rescue missions, these three frontline states are shamefully prepared to turn away and let these boats drift away to their doom.

''By the time the Thai Prime Minister's regional meeting rolls around on May 29, will there be any boat people left to save?

''The UN and governments around the world need to forcefully demand that Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia act now to save those on the boats, and to pressure Burma to end the rights abusing policies that drive the Rohingya out to the boats in the first place.''