Covid-19: Deliver humanitarian response instead of rejection — Agora Society

APRIL 28 — On the recent incident of Malaysian authority turning away a vessel trafficking some 200 Rohingya refugees from our shore after providing food, Agora Society would like to assert that:

1. Generally, vessels used to carry refugees are overloaded beyond their capacity and thus unseaworthy, not commanded by professional seamen. In this particular case, our government should therefore first and foremost, have assessed and disclosed the conditions of the vessel and its passengers, providing also immediate assistance and aid to those who could be sick and weak.

2. Instead of turning them away, the government should have offered a temporary place of safety to these passengers for the purpose of testing them for coronavirus as well as identifying their origins and nationalities. Respective embassy(ies) or high commission(s) should be contacted for further action should nationalities be identified.

For those whose nationalities cannot be identified, or in the event that a foreign mission refuses to recognise the passengers as its nationals, as is the case with Rohingya, the government could offer temporary shelter and food in collaboration with the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), other international organisations, as well as local non-governmental organizations to overcome constraints imposed by the movement control order (MCO).

3. With the lifting of MCO in due time, the government could proceed with refugee status determination by UNHCR, while seeking help from the countries that are already providing assistance to Rohingya refugees in Malaysia, such as Qatar, the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

4. The government should urge the public to immediately stop the dissemination of certain inflammatory contents on the internet, such as the fake news of a Rohingya named Zafar Ahmad demanding Malaysian citizenship, and call for a halt to all forms of attack — be it verbal or physical — on Rohingyas to ensure their personal safety and security; any threat of physical violence by any party against any individual must be thoroughly investigated.

5. The government should also immediately initiate an emergency meeting with its counterparts in Bangladesh and Myanmar to curb the trafficking of Rohingya refugees to Malaysia by the syndicates.

It is regrettable that the former and current governments, ie. BN, PH and PN, have never been providing any substantial aid to the refugees in Malaysia and as a result, refugees are denied the access to essential public services such as education and health.

All this has rendered the refugees susceptible to abuses and exploitation by law enforcement officers and employers alike. For instance, contrary to the accusation that the Rohingyas have monopolised the Selayang Pasar businesses, it is the stall owners who have in fact rented out their stalls to Rohingya refugees and Burmese for easy money while leaving them to do the hard work.

We have even witnessed the kindness and magnanimity of some refugee groups who have been providing free food for some low-income families throughout the MCO period. Therefore, the repeated refusals of entry by politicians and the Malaysian public to the refugees stuck at sea on the grounds of conserving state resources are nothing but inhumane.

7. Agora Society reiterates that the government must put in place a coherent and humane refugee policy. Even if this government does not harbour any intention to become the signatory of the 1951 Refugee Convention, it should at least ensure that public healthcare is made affordable to refugee communities.

If there is anything we should learn throughout this Covid-19 outbreak, it is the fact the viral infection does not discriminate against anyone. Ensuring healthcare for refugees also means the country is more protected and secure from transmittable diseases.

Furthermore, refugee children should not be denied primary education, the availability of which could ensure that they are less likely to succumb to evil forces and become involved in criminal activities, to the detriment of all.

Last but not least, the government should grant refugees employment rights so that they may work with peace of mind. This way, they may also contribute to Malaysia by paying taxes. After all, the country owes its development and industrial growth to the vital contribution of migrant workers.

* Agora Society Malaysia is a loose network of intellectuals, writers and activists who support the democratic progress in Malaysia.

** This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.