Malaysia will not tolerate human trafficking - Najib
Astro Awani
Mei 15, 2015 10:41 MYT
Mei 15, 2015 10:41 MYT
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak on Friday said Malaysia will not tolerate any form of human trafficking Najib citing that his government was taking 'necessary action' in view of the hundreds of migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh who have sought this week to reach Southeast Asia.
In the latest Facebook posting, Najib however did not give any indication of a change in Malaysian policy.
He also stated that anyone found to be perpetrating this injustice and contravening Malaysian laws will be held accountable.
“I am very concerned with the plight of migrants in our region, some of whom have already reached our shores and still others who are trying.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the National Security Council are taking the necessary actions to deal with this humanitarian crisis,” he said.
He added that this is an issue of international and regional importance. We are in contact with all relevant parties, with whom we share the desire to find a solution to this crisis.
But the decision of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand to turn away stricken boats filled with starving migrants has been met with outrage, including from the United States and United Nations.
On Thursday, Malaysian Deputy Home Minister Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar blamed Myanmar and Bangladesh for the crisis, chastising Yangon in particular for "the way they treat the Rohingya people".
The Muslim Rohingya flee by the thousands each year to escape state-sanctioned discrimination in Buddhist-majority Myanmar and recent sectarian violence against them.
There are more than a million Rohingya living in Myanmar's western state of Rakhine, many going back generations, but Myanmar insists they are illegal immigrants from Bangladesh.