Around 114 Myanmar nationals in Malaysia have been given extended court protection from being deported to their strife-torn homeland.

Human rights groups - Amnesty International Malaysia and Asylum Access Malaysia - today succeeded in obtaining court leave to commence legal action to prevent the nationals from being sent back to Myanmar, now divided by violent protests.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court granted leave to the two groups' judicial review leave application against the immigration director-general, the home minister and the Malaysian government.