A rights group is urging Malaysia to stop detaining Muslim Burmese refugees as part of a crackdown on illegal immigration.
The group, Myanmar Ethnic Rohingyas Human Rights Organization says Malaysian authorities have picked up more than 500 immigrants in recent days, including about 150 ethnic Rohingyas from Burma.
Malaysia's government has not confirmed the figures.
Rohingyas are a Muslim minority from northeast Burma who have fled persecution by the country's military leadership.
The leader of the Rohingyan rights group, Zafar Ahmad appealed today to Malaysia's government to let people remain in the country.
The estimated 12000 Rohingyas in Malaysia are recognized as refugees by the United Nations.
But, Kuala Lumpur is not a party to U.N. refugee conventions and treats most refugees as illegal immigrants.