PM bakal undang Presiden Myanmar, percepat proses hantar pulang Rohingya

Perdana Menteri Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim plans to invite Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing to visit Malaysia in a diplomatic move to expedite the repatriation of around 200,000 Rohingya refugees currently residing in the country. The Malaysian leader stated that this step is being taken to address the growing concern and anger among the local population over the Rohingya refugee issue.

According to initial discussions held earlier, Myanmar agreed to reaccept 5,000 Rohingya refugees on a phased basis, with the first batch of up to 1,500 individuals expected to return within the next two weeks. Anwar emphasized that while it would be ideal to repatriate all refugees at once, a phased approach is necessary. He also mentioned that Malaysia is ready to bear the logistical costs, such as clothing, food, and fuel for the repatriation process, which is cheaper than housing refugees in detention centers, costing between RM50 to RM200 per person per day.

Anwar further stressed that the refugee crisis stems from the previous government's decision to organize large gatherings urging the refugees to return at some unspecified future date. In July, Anwar reported that Myanmar agreed to accept 5,000 Rohingya refugees, marking the first step towards addressing the refugee crisis, and demonstrating that the issue cannot be resolved solely by urging the refugees to return, as Myanmar previously refused to accept them.