KUALA LUMPUR
Malaysia’s prime minister ordered the navy Thursday to launch search and rescue operations for migrants stranded off the country’s western coast.
"I have instructed @tldm_rasmi & APMM to assist @MERCYMalaysia to deliver humanitarian assistance to the Rohingyan refugees, by sea or land," Najib Razak tweeted, using the Twitter usernames of the Royal Malaysian Navy, the Maritime Enforcement Agency and a non-profit organization.
“I have further ordered @tldm_rasmi and APMM to conduct search and rescue efforts on Rohingya boats. We have to prevent loss of life," he added.
Meanwhile, the navy’s chief has deployed four vessels on a humanitarian mission to Langkawi, an archipelago of islands in the Andaman Sea around 30 kilometers off Malaysia’s northwest mainland coast, Bernama reported.
The move comes a day after Malaysia and Indonesia agreed to offer temporary shelter to the around 7,000 Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants stranded on the Andaman - but only if the international community agrees to then resettle them after one year. Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla later clarified that his country would shelter Rohingya – most of whom are thought to originate from Myanmar -- for one year, while the Bangladeshis would be sent back home.
On Thursday, Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman traveled to Myanmar to discuss the offer, while also pressuring the Myanmar government to solve ongoing problems between its Muslim and Buddhist communities. Arrmanata Nasir, Indonesian foreign ministry spokesman, confirmed to Anadolu Agency that Minister Retno Marsudi would accompany Aman.
There was no indication that other countries had agreed to the resettlement deal, or when the “sheltering” would begin.
But by Wednesday night, the Philippines, the U.S. and Gambia had come on board, and Turkey had announced that it would donate $1 million to support aid activities.
Thailand, however, is not agreeing to any deal, saying Thursday that it would not open shelters in its borders.
“Thailand is a transit country, so we have more problems than other countries. In terms of policy, we agree to help but all remains to be discussed,” said junta chief-cum-Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha.
Since Thailand launched a crackdown on trafficking in its southern region May 1, boatloads of the migrants have been turning up on Thai, Indonesian and Malaysian shores, while many more remain at sea.
Some of them have been taken in, emaciated passengers whisked to hospitals and holding centers, but of late the navies of the three countries had been turning the vessels back to sea after providing them with food and water.
Many of the boat's Muslim occupants have fled Myanmar's western Rakhine state alleging brutality by the country’s military leaders, some have left refugee camps in Bangladesh’s Cox Bazar region, while others claim to have been forced onto the boats by people smugglers – ransoms then demanded from their families back home for their safe passage.
Myanmar is under intense pressure to help stem the flood of migrants from Bangladesh - many of whom are Rohingya Muslims - that have been attempting to land on Malaysian, Thai, and Indonesian shores.
Myanmar, however, does not recognize its Rohingya population, preferring to refer to them as Bengali - which suggests they are from neighboring Bangladesh.
For weeks after the May 1 crisis started, it denied involvement, a senior Myanmar official lashing out at mounting international pressure for it to join talks.
U Zaw Htay - a director at the Myanmar president’s office - claimed the problem is down to human traffickers and corrupt officials, and has nothing to do with Myanmar.
Since 2012, Rohingya -- who the United Nations consider to be the world’s most persecuted ethnic minority -- have been fleeing Myanmar in droves, in fear of violence that some human rights groups consider to be state-sponsored.
Earlier Wednesday, however, a statement carried by state media marked a shift in the government's rhetoric.
The country's government announced it was "deeply concerned" about the "life-threatening" conditions faced by thousands of its migrants stranded at sea.
Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia are not signatories to the 1951 United Nations Refugee Convention that would oblige them to resettle a certain number of refugees.
