PETALING JAYA: Malaysia has been left to bear much of the burden of the Rohingya refugee crisis despite earlier promises by developed countries to take in refugees for resettlement, said Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.
In a Sinar Harian report, he said developed countries that had previously pledged to assist with resettlement had not taken in a proportionate number of refugees.
Syed Saddiq warned that the situation has become a “ticking time bomb” that could turn into a “nuclear bomb”, with wider implications for the country’s politics and security if left unresolved.
“Look at Indonesia, for example, where the number of Rohingya is fewer than 2,600, Thailand has fewer than 500, while India has fewer than 20,000," he said
Syed Saddiq added that the number of Rohingya refugees in Malaysia continued to rise, with the official figure of 130,000 and the unofficial figure exceeding 200,000.
"This shows that promises have not been fulfilled. Malaysia has ended up absorbing all the problems but we are doing it alone while others remain happy.
“It is as if we are the only ones who have to solve this problem,” he said during a debate on refugee management in Malaysia in the Dewan Rakyat on Monday (Oct 5).
Syed Saddiq also stressed that Malaysia had previously been promised that it would serve as a temporary location for the documentation process before the refugees were sent to developed countries, and could no longer be expected to deal with the issue alone.
He said allowing the situation to continue could strengthen human trafficking syndicates that took advantage of refugees.
“If the Royal Malaysian Navy (RMN) and Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency (MMEA) do not act firmly, we are indirectly providing an incentive for smugglers to continue bringing thousands or even tens of thousands of people to Malaysia,” he said.
