The Rohingya, mostly women, boarded a boat from Tanjung Balai in Indonesia and landed at a spot along the Selangor coast on Jan 6, police said.

Seeking refuge, Muslim Rohingya have for years boarded boats, fleeing persecution in Myanmar and refugee camps in Bangladesh, some taking the dangerous option of travelling with people-smugglers to Southeast Asia.

Malaysia does not recognise their refugee status, but is still the favoured destination for Rohingya seeking a better life.

Seventeen Rohingya women, seven men and seven children, as well as five Indonesian women, were on board, police said of the arrival, reported by AFP on Friday.

Royal Malaysia Police internal security director Abdul Rahim Jaafar said 21 of the migrants had been charged with entering the country without valid documents and two others charged under anti-trafficking laws.

More than a dozen of them have been handed over to the Malaysian Immigration Department, Rahim said.