Malaysian authorities detained more than 100 Rohingya refugees, including women and children, after they gathered outside the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, seeking protection following their eviction from homes in the northern state of Penang.

The refugees said they had traveled overnight to the capital after being forced to leave their residences by local residents. They hoped to seek assistance from the UNHCR, including protection and support for possible resettlement. According to the Bangkok Post, police later moved the group and their belongings to Kuala Lumpur police headquarters for verification and further processing.

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim defended the authorities' response, saying the gathering had raised public concerns and warning that undocumented migrants without valid permits would be detained by immigration officials.

The incident comes as Malaysia has seen a rise in online hate speech and misinformation targeting the Rohingya community, prompting growing harassment and insecurity. The UNHCR recently warned that increasingly hostile rhetoric against refugees could fuel discrimination and violence offline.

Malaysia currently hosts around 126,000 Rohingya refugees and asylum seekers registered with the UNHCR, although rights groups estimate the actual number is significantly higher. Despite serving for decades as a refuge for Rohingya fleeing persecution in Myanmar, Malaysia is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and continues to treat asylum seekers as undocumented migrants under its immigration laws.

BOB Post