LUMUT: A Malaysian court Tuesday ordered a temporary halt to a controversial plan to deport 1,200 Myanmar detainees to their homeland weeks after a coup, following a last-ditch legal challenge.

The Kuala Lumpur High Court said the repatriation cannot take place to allow for a hearing on Wednesday into a bid by Amnesty International and Asylum Access to stop the deportations, New Sin Yew, a lawyer representing the groups, told AFP.