Source nst, 20 Oct
The hands of a Rohingya victim of trafficking, forced onto a boat in Myanmar for a tortuous two-month-long journey, beaten and kicked by traffickers as he watched scores die of starvation and thirst along the way. Reuters pix.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has taken proactive measures to address the Rohingya migrants issue, including having frequent meetings with Myanmar and raising the matter on different platforms such as Asean, the OIC and the United Nations.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman told the Dewan Rakyat today that Myanmar must take bigger and concrete measures to resolve the issue.
“We have again expressed our concern to Myanmar in our meeting with President U Thein Sien during his visit here in March.
“During the visit, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak had voiced his concern over the number of Rohingya refugees in Malaysia who are in poor condition.
“Malaysia has also taken initiatives to help the refugees through ministerial meetings with Thailand and Indonesia to seek a common solution," he said in reply to a question by Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang (Pas-Marang).
Following the meeting, he said Malaysia and Indonesia had agreed to provide assistance on humanitarian grounds to help some 7,000 Rohingya refugees who had drifted to the Bay of Bengal and Andaman Bay.
"Malaysia as the Asean chair had used its platform to regularly voice its concern and call for a more active role by Myanmar to solve the issue including during 48th Asean Foreign Ministerial Meeting held here in August," he said.
The Sail 