The dawn breakout – what now for the Rohingya?

Where it happened: Media personnel reporting from the Sungai Bakap temporary immigration depot in Bandar Baharu, Kedah, where the Rohingya refugees escaped from. — Bernama

THE escape of 528 Rohingya from an immigration depot in Kedah has once again trained the spotlight on how such detainees should be dealt with.

It was a breakout that had no happy ending. Six of them – two adults, three girls and an eight-year-old boy – died in their quest for freedom when they were hit by a car while dashing across the North-South Expressway.

Apparently, most of the detainees had been transferred to the centre from another immigration detention camp in Langkawi less than a year ago.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainuddin said the refugees had been arrested for entering Malaysia illegally in 2020.

For now, there are many questions, and it is not just about why the breakout happened.

For instance, how long would they be held at these detention centres since they cannot be deported back to Myanmar where they are not recognised and may face persecution?

What about the role of the more prosperous nations? In the past, they had welcomed Vietnamese refugees.

It is, however, clear that Malaysia can no longer afford to be benevolent to refugees, like it was when it rendered help to various refugee communities from across the globe in the past.

Back in 2020, former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said Malaysia’s economy was struggling and resources were dwindling due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and the country could no longer take in Rohingya refugees.

He also urged the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to expedite the resettlement of the Rohingya here to third countries.

“We can no longer take more as our resources and capacities are already stretched, compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Yet, Malaysia is unfairly expected to do more to accommodate incoming refugees,” Muhyiddin was quoted as saying in a teleconference with other leaders of Asean countries, including Myanmar.

Still, Malaysian authorities must also stop cramming detainees like sardines in a can at detention centres, as this can create various other problems such as the spread of communicable diseases.

Following Wednesday’s breakout, many Malaysians have been vocal in their views, expressing their thoughts on the matter via social media.

There were many who were sympathetic to the plight of the Rohingya but, unfortunately, negative comments far surpassed these expressions of sympathy.

Malaysians, already struggling to earn a decent living, are indignant about how their annual taxes are being spent.

The case of the infamous Rohingya, Abdul Hamim Ab Hamid aka Long Tiger, also cast a shadow over the community.

In December last year, he escaped from a Magistrate’s Court lock-up in Johor.

Long Tiger, 32, who has a criminal record, has since been sentenced to jail for a year.

Wednesday’s breakout brings to mind my conversations with a food stall operator in Pandan Indah, Kuala Lumpur, in the early 2000s.

I used to visit the food stall, which was run by a Rohingya woman and her brothers.

From our conversations, it was clear that she, as well as other Rohingya here at that time, had no intention of remaining in Malaysia.

“We work here so that we can save up to build a house and start a farm when we go back.

“We will be able to go back soon. (Former Myanmar leader Aung San) Suu Kyi is very good; she will help us get home,” she used to say.

As everybody knows, that was not how the story ended.

Suu Kyi herself is under arrest and instead of finding their way back home, more and more Rohingya are headed to Malaysia instead.