Burmese workers are worried about their security as Malaysian authorities have arrested 50 Burmese workers at Mewah Perat, in Butterworth state in Malaysia.
 
The arrests took place on the night of February 8. Recently, the authorities have been arresting workers frequently from Pinang and Jalan Baru area.
 
Therefore, Burmese migrant workers have been taking turns at sentry duty for their own security, according to factory worker Ko Hein Zaw.
 
"We take sentry duty because we are afraid that the authorities will come. When they come here, we have to run away. Therefore, we sleep at night at 4 am. We take sentry duty by rotation," he said.
 
After the government shut down factories, unemployment has increased. Around 350 workers have been arrested since Feb 2, 2009.
 
Among the workers who have been arrested, there are some who had legal visas. They were arrested when they went to their workplace, Ko Hein Zaw said.
 
"The real workers, who have work permits, have also been arrested. Some 'calling workers' are still in jail. I asked them about their release. They replied that their boss would work towards their release on February 14. These people came to Malaysia with the help of agents," he added.
 
Migrants with legal visas would be detained for 14 days. The workers who do not have legal visas would be charged with three months in prison and then sent back to their country, he added.
 
Malaysian immigration officials will transfer them to human traffickers. They face a lot of trouble because the traffickers forcibly demand money from them, a woman who came back from the border said.
 
"After 3 months in prison, the immigration officials send them back to the border. Then, the officials transfer these workers to Burmese human traffickers. The traffickers threaten the migrants if they cannot give money to them. I gave a lot of money for coming back to Malaysia," she said.
 
If the migrants want to go back to Burma, the traffickers demand 2,500 Ringgit, which is equal to 750,000 Kyat. If these migrants cannot pay money to them, the traffickers sell them to Thai traffickers, the woman said.
 
After the Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister officially announced that Malaysia would not provide any visa extension for foreign labourers, arrests of migrants have increased.