Anwar says Myanmar agrees to accept 5,000 Rohingya refugees from Malaysia
JELEBU, July 29 — Myanmar has agreed to take in about 5,000 Rohingya refugees currently in Malaysia, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
He said the matter was initially difficult to implement but was eventually achieved through the good relations between Malaysia and Myanmar.
“People ask to send them back (the Rohingya refugees), but send them back where? Send them to Myanmar… previously, they (Myanmar) did not want to accept them.
“But due to the good relations between Malaysia and Myanmar, they have now agreed to take in 5,000 (Rohingya refugees) first from Malaysia,” he said at the Minum Petang Bersama PMX event attended by thousands of people, including Transport Minister and Pakatan Harapan (PH) Chennah candidate Anthony Loke Siew Fook, at Simpang Durian here today.
Last Monday, hundreds of Rohingya refugees gathered outside the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office at Jalan Bukit Petaling, Kuala Lumpur, after arriving in the capital from Penang in three buses earlier that morning.
Kuala Lumpur police chief Datuk Fadil Marsus said the refugees were being relocated in stages to three states identified by non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and the UNHCR.
Anwar, when commenting on the matter yesterday, said the government would not compromise with any refugee group that disrupts public order or attempts to take over any area in the country.
He reiterated that Rohingya refugees in Malaysia must not disrupt public order by gathering on roads or at public places.
Anwar said he had instructed the police to act against any group that disrupted public order or gathered at roads and public places, adding that the Rohingya refugees would be relocated to designated areas.
