حمزه: كامي بري ڤلارين روهيڠا ماكنن اونتوق سمبوڠ ڤرجالنن
Malaysian authorities didn’t just turn away a boat with Rohingyans on board – they gave the refugees food to continue their journey elsewhere.
This was revealed by Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin with reference to reports that the Royal Malaysian Navy intercepted a boat carrying about 200 Rohingya refugees and gave them food before sending them off on their journey.
The move, however, was criticised by several groups, among them being the Human Rights Watch.
The group’s deputy director for Asia, Phil Robertson, said the Covid-19 pandemic did not justify risking the lives of refugees on overcrowded boats by pushing them back to sea.
PETALING JAYA: Malaysian authorities didn’t just turn away a boat with Rohingyans on board – they gave the refugees food to continue their journey elsewhere.
This was revealed by Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin with reference to reports that the Royal Malaysian Navy intercepted a boat carrying about 200 Rohingya refugees and gave them food before sending them off on their journey.
The boat was intercepted 70 nautical miles off the coast of Langkawi.
“Referring to the action of Malaysian authorities disallowing a boat carrying ethnic Rohingya from entering the country’s waters on April 17, the Home Ministry stresses that that measure is in line with the law to prevent the sovereignty of the country’s borders from being intruded.
“However, on a humanitarian basis, Malaysian authorities had distributed food supplies before escorting that boat out from the country’s waters,” Hamzah was reported by the Malay Mail Online as saying.
The move to turn away the boat was criticised by several groups, among them being the Human Rights Watch.
The group’s deputy director for Asia, Phil Robertson, said the Covid-19 pandemic did not justify risking the lives of refugees on overcrowded boats by pushing them back to sea.
Lawyers for Liberty (LFL) highlighted that the Rohingya community still faced persecution, discrimination and violence in their home country.
The group criticised the act of pushing refugees back to sea, saying it was in violation of international human rights law and contradicted Malaysia’s past reception towards the community.
THE THIRD FORCE
NOTE: I SHALL ALSO MAKE IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM TIME TO TIME EXCLUSIVELY THROUGH THE FOLLOWING TELEGRAM CHANNEL:
