‘WE WILL NOT TURN ROHINGYA AWAY’
Authorities will accept refugees for humanitarian reasons, says MMEA
AINA NASA
AND JULIA FIONA KUALA LUMPUR news@nst.com.my
MALAYSIA will not turn away Rohingya Muslims fleeing the violence in Myanmar and will provide them with temporary shelter, said Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA).
The agency, in a Reuters report, said authorities would accept the refugees for humanitarian reasons.
“We are supposed to provide basic necessities for them to continue their journey and then push them away. But at the end of the day, because of humanitarian reasons, we will not do that,” MMEA director-general Admiral Datuk Zulkifili Abu Bakar said.
It was reported that Rohingya insurgents attacked several police posts and an army base on Aug 25, prompting military counter-offensives on numerous villages.
Some 400 Rohingya from the state of Rakhine have been killed, and more are expected to flee to neighbouring countries such as Bangladesh, Malaysia and Thailand.
Zulkifili said Malaysia was likely to see more boat people from Myanmar in the coming weeks and months because of the renewed violence.
Such voyages would be hazardous in the next few months due to the annual monsoon season.
Malaysia is not party to the United Nations Refugee Convention, and does not recognise refugees, except as illegal immigrants.
About 59,000 Rohingya refugees have registered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees here, though it is estimated that more than 100,000 of them are in the country.