A TOTAL of 39,000 refugees and asylum seekers from 33 countries registered themselves in Malaysia in the first three months of the year, reported Sin Chew Daily.
Topping the list are Myanmar refugees at 33,000, followed by Sri Lankans and Iraqis.
There are 17 refugees and asylum seekers from African countries such as Somali, Libya and Luwanda.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees external relations officer Yante Ismail said 4,000 of the refugees are below seven years old and 6,000 aged between seven and 17.
Most of the refugees and asylum seekers stayed in the Klang Valley, she said, adding that 68% of asylum seekers were male.
> Sin Chew Daily also reported that an assistant headmaster of a primary school was arrested for stealing a bonsai plant worth RM200 at a nursery in Muar, Johor, at about 10pm on Sunday.
The 49-year-old man was caught red-handed by the owner and customers.
Police also seized a shotgun from the suspect who has been remanded for four days to assist in investigations.
Other News & Views is compiled from the vernacular newspapers (Bahasa Malaysia, Chinese and Tamil dailies). As such, stories are grouped according to the respective language/medium. Where a paragraph begins with a sub-heading, it denotes a separate news item.
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