Malaysian authorities raided the Kuala Lumpur office of the Arakan Refugee Relief Committee (ARRC), the main agency assisting Arakanese people in Malaysia, and arrested 20 people including office personnel.

The detainees were arrested by seven police officers in plainclothes at around 11:00 p.m. local time on October 12, but it is not yet known why they were arrested.

U Aye Kyaw, chairman of the ARRC, U Aung Myo Thu, vice chairman of the organisation and several other ARRC staffers were among the arrestees, an ARRC member told DMG.

“There were also people who had applied for UN cards at the office that day,” the ARRC member added. “At that time, a group of people claiming to be the police arrested the ARRC officials. They also confiscated computers, laptops and CCTVs. I managed to evade arrest because I hid myself in a toilet stall when the police raided the office.”

The ARRC member, who has since gone into hiding, said he is worried about the safety of those detained by Malaysian police on Wednesday.

“Someone from our office who was detained by the police phoned me from the police station and told me not to come to the police station for now, and to wait for two weeks,” he said. “ARRC officials have UN cards, so there is a possibility that they will be released, but those who came to apply for the cards do not have UN cards, so I am worried about their safety. I can do nothing for them [detainees] because I also went into hiding.”

The office of the Center for Arakan Refugees (CAR) was also shuttered after the arrests of the ARRC staff. CAR announced that its office would be temporarily closed due to the fact that Malaysia is preparing to hold elections, and arrests and inspections may increase during the leadup to the vote.

Caption: Malaysia hosts a significant population of migrant workers from Arakan State. (Photo: Reuters)