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Myanmar has agreed to take back 300,000 Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim announced this information while speaking at an event on Wednesday (July 29). Additionally, Myanmar will also repatriate 5,000 Rohingya from Malaysia.
Citing local media Free Malaysia Today, Turkish news agency Anadolu reported that Anwar Ibrahim described this agreement as a first step towards resolving the long-standing Rohingya refugee crisis and maintaining law and order in Malaysia.
He said, “People say, ‘Send them back, send them back.’ But where will we send them? Myanmar didn’t want to take them. That’s why maintaining good relations with Myanmar is crucial. Now they have initially agreed to take 5,000 people.”
Furthermore, Anwar Ibrahim also stated that Myanmar has agreed to repatriate approximately 300,000 Rohingya currently residing in Bangladesh. However, he did not specify any timeframe for this repatriation process.
The Prime Minister’s announcement came just days after over a hundred Rohingya left a shelter in Penang state and gathered in front of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) office in Kuala Lumpur. Subsequently, Malaysian authorities relocated the group of Rohingya to various temporary shelters in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, and Penang.
Anwar Ibrahim emphasized that Malaysia will continue discussions with Myanmar with the goal of finding a long-term solution to this regional refugee crisis.
It is worth noting that the Rohingya community, a Muslim minority group in Myanmar, has long been subjected to discrimination, persecution, and statelessness. To escape extreme hardship, they often attempt to flee to other countries via dangerous sea routes.
In 2017, millions of Rohingya fled their country due to violent operations by the Myanmar military and armed groups. Currently, over 1.3 million Rohingya have taken refuge in Bangladesh. Many others have reached Indonesia and Malaysia by sea, risking their lives.