Burmese in Malaysia arrested after handcuffing themselves Malaysia, where many young and middle-aged people from Myanmar work, has been continuously detaining undocumented foreigners, including Myanmar, as part of an “Operation Racism”. In the first week of December 2024, Malaysian police raided an apartment building in Ampang, Selangor state, at night. The police repeatedly knocked on doors and called out the people inside, demanding their identification documents. They also searched the apartment building. When they opened a loft in the building, they found people hiding in the loft. Police footage seen by the BBC shows a woman and two men hanging from the loft. The 93 illegal immigrants arrested from the building were Indonesian, Bangladeshi, Myanmar, Nepalese and Pakistani nationals, aged between four months and 55 years, according to the Malaysian Ministry of Social Development. The Malaysian Immigration, Police, The daily arrests are being carried out by government agencies such as municipal councils, according to the Malaysian Immigration Department's social media page. "The arrests are brutal, they are being carried out in condominiums, factories, bus terminals, and even on cars," U San Win, chairman of the Myanmar Social Assistance Association, a Malaysia-based organization that helps Myanmar workers, told the BBC. The arrests have been almost continuous throughout the year, but towards the end of the year, they have become more frequent, day and night.