PUTRAJAYA: Authorities are focusing their investigation on establishing the identities and origins of victims from the capsized boat off Langkawi, says Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
The Home Minister said police personnel have begun checks to determine whether the victims possessed any documentation or travel papers.
He said this is part of efforts to trace their nationality and point of departure.
“The immediate focus now is to identify the victims and whether they have any documents such as entry permits or identification papers,” he said.
Saifuddin added that if they do not, they will be categorised under immigration offences for entering without valid documents.
“If documents are found, we can determine which country they come from and where they last embarked. All this information will be compiled by the police as part of their investigation,” he said.
He spoke at a press conference during the World Day Against Trafficking in Persons 2025 on Monday (Nov 10).
Saifuddin said the search and rescue operation is being led by the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency and covers 250 square nautical miles and involves assets from the Navy, Marine Police and Fisheries Department.
He added that although the incident did not occur in Malaysian waters, bodies and survivors were found within four to five nautical miles of Langkawi due to monsoon winds and currents.
“Even though the capsizing happened outside our waters, the bodies swept ashore have become our responsibility. That is why we are leading the SAR efforts,” he added.
Saifuddin said survivors and bodies recovered are being brought to Langkawi for documentation and post-mortems and added that Malaysia is in close contact with Thai authorities.
He added Thailand has recovered nine bodies, while Malaysian teams have found 13 survivors and 12 deceased victims.
The incident is believed to involve a vessel carrying hundreds of migrants, mainly Rohingya and Bangladeshi nationals.
It capsized near Thailand’s Tarutao Island, about 2.5 nautical miles north of Langkawi, on Nov 8.
