Boat sinks off Malaysia killing 11 Indonesian migrants

At least 11 Indonesian migrants have drowned off the southern coast of peninsular Malaysia after their vessel capsized.

The Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) and the country’s navy said search and rescue mission is underway for 25 people still missing after 14 survivors and the boat were found on a beach in Tanjung Balau.

The MMEA said the boat capsized at about 4:30am on Wednesday off the coast of Johor state, which borders Singapore and sits across the Strait of Malacca, one of the world’s busiest maritime trade conduits, from Indonesia.

“The boat was believed to have travelled from Indonesia and capsized after being hit by strong waves,” Johor maritime operations deputy director Captain Simon Templer Lo Ak Tusa told reporters.

All those on the vessel were Indonesian, the MMEA said.

The accident is the latest in a string of disasters recorded in the waterways between Indonesia and Malaysia in recent years, often involving overloaded boats ferrying labourers seeking work in Malaysian factories and plantations.

According to Anis Hidayah of Migrant CARE, a Jakarta-based non-government organisation, between 100,000 and 200,000 Indonesians travel illegally to Malaysia each year for work, many of them recruited by trafficking gangs and subjected to exploitation when they arrive.

“They travel to Malaysia by boat and there are so many accidents because they depart at night and arrive early in the morning,” she said, adding boats often stop before reaching land to avoid detection and require those on board to swim ashore.

Captain Simon urged migrants not to embark on such risky journeys.

“We would like to advise people, especially the undocumented migrants to use valid routes to prevent such incidents from recurring,” he said.