AUTHORITIES found 37 people, believed to be Rohingya from Myanmar, on a beach in Perlis today, Reuters reports.

This is the second landing on the same beach since last month, sparking fears of a new wave of people smuggling by sea, the new agency reports.

The 37 men were detained near Simpang Empat, Perlis police chief Noor Mushar Mohamad told Reuters.

“We believe they were travelling on a much larger boat, before being transferred into smaller boats at sea and taken to different places,” he said.

“We are still investigating where the boats are coming from, but we suspect human trafficking syndicates are involved.”

Last month, 34 Rohingya were found in Perlis, believed to be the first such arrivals in more than a year.

Rohingya are facing increasing pressure in Myanmar after the military stepped up its crackdown on the minority in 2017, citing insurgent attacks on army posts.

The Myanmar government does not recognise the Rohingya as citizens, and says they are migrants from Bangladesh despite evidence of them living in the country’s Rakhine state for generations.

About 740,000 Rohingya are believed to have fled to Bangladesh in 2017.

Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia grappled with a wave of Rohingya arrivals by boat in 2015 after overland routes were shut down by authorities.

Malaysia then shut down camps discovered in Perlis along the Thai border. 

But there are allegations of collusion between Malaysian enforcement agencies and people smugglers, prompting Putrajaya to convene a royal inquiry to look into the matter. – April 8, 2019.