00:01MUA MP Saeed Sadek Saeed Abdul Rahman has warned that Malaysia's refugee situation is a ticking time bomb
00:08that could worsen political and social problems if the government fails to act firmly.
00:14He said Malaysia had taken in hundreds of thousands of refugees on humanitarian grounds,
00:19but was now carrying a disproportionate share of the burden.
00:23Saeed Sadek told the Dewan Rakyat that Malaysia had about 130,000 officially registered Rohingya refugees,
00:30with the unofficial figure exceeding 200,000.
00:34He compared this with much lower numbers in Indonesia, Thailand and India.
00:39While stressing that Malaysia should retain its humanitarian principles,
00:43he called for a firmer approach and urged the Navy and Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency
00:50to adopt a zero-tolerance policy towards boats carrying refugees and migrants.
00:56Saeed Sadek argued that failing to stop such arrivals could encourage human trafficking and smuggling syndicates
01:03to continue operating, citing the discovery of more than 150 bodies in mass graves in Wang Kelian.
01:10He also warned that those attempting to reach Malaysia by sea were putting their lives at risk
01:16by travelling long distances in unsafe boats.
01:19On burden-sharing, Saeed Sadek said neighbouring and developed countries should take greater responsibility.
01:26He suggested Malaysia could serve as a temporary location for documentation
01:31before refugees are resettled elsewhere.
01:34He was speaking while debating a parliamentary select committee report on refugee management.
01:40Malaysia is also in the process of repatriating over 3,500 Myanmar nationals
01:46with an estimated 1,400 already sent home in the first phase.
01:52Hanyu Zhou, FMT.
