Brief History

Pulau Bidong in 2007

 - April 30^th, 1975: Vietnam War ended
- Millions of people tried to flee the new Communist Government
- May 1975: First boat with 47 people arrived Malaysia from Vietnam
- Pulau Bidong was officially open on August 8^th, 1978 
- Between 1975 – 1991, over 250,000 Vietnamese refugees landed on Malaysia by boats
- Almost 97% or over 240,000 Vietnamese refugees resettled in third countries
- On October 30^th, 1991, Pulau Bidong camp was closed. Everyone was transferred to inland Sungei Besi camp
- Somewhere in 1996: Sungei Besi camp was also closed
- Over 9,000 Vietnamese refugees were repatriated back to Vietnam
- August 28, 2005: Last Vietnamese refugees were repatriated back to Vietnam