Malaysia orders sea search for migrants

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s prime minister said Thursday he has ordered the navy and coast guard to comb the sea to look for stranded migrants, the first country to announce it will search for the refugees in desperate need of help instead of waiting for them to wash up on Southeast Asia’s shores.

In a positive sign, Myanmar — the country which many of the refugees, ethnic Rohingya, are fleeing — said it will attend a regional meeting in Bangkok next Friday, creating a chance for the nations most affected by the crisis to discuss long-term solutions. Earlier, it hinted it would skip the meeting, which will bring together more than a dozen governments from the region and beyond.
In the past three weeks, more than 3,000 people — Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution in Myanmar and Bangladeshis trying to escape poverty — have landed in overcrowded boats on the shores of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. After initially pushing many boats back, Malaysia and Indonesia announced on Wednesday that they will offer temporary shelter to incoming migrants. Although the announcement was seen as a major breakthrough, rights groups said the proposal addressed only part of the problem, and urged countries to start actively searching for those stranded at sea. The UN refugee agency believes that more than 3,000 could still be at sea, although some activists put the number at 6,000.
Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak addressed the concern via Twitter, saying he had ordered the navy and coast guard “to conduct search and rescue efforts (for) Rohingya boats. We have to prevent loss of life.”
The tiny African country of Gambia has also said it was willing to take in Rohingya refugees. “As human beings, more so fellow Muslims, it is our sacred duty to help,” the presidency said in a statement.
The No. 2 US diplomat, currently visiting Southeast Asia, said he would raise the humanitarian crisis of the Rohingya when he meets with senior Myanmar government leaders on Thursday.