Indonesia-Malaysia Collaborate Handling The Entry Of Rohingya Refugees, Bakamla: If The Ship Is Damaged, Yes, Please

Rohingya refugees walked to the beach after crossing the Bangladesh-Myanmar border by ship through Bengal Bay, Bangladesh, Sunday 10 September 2017. (ANTARA-REUTERS-Danish Siddiqui)

JAKARTA - The Indonesian Maritime Security Agency (Bakamla) and the Malaysian Maritime Strengthening Agency (APMM) agreed to jointly deal with Rohingya refugees. The refugees fled their homes in Myanmar to countries in Southeast Asia, including Indonesia and Malaysia.

The head of Bakamla Vice Admiral (Laksdya) TNI Aan Kurnia emphasized that the issue of Rohingya refugees is still a common concern, especially if they are found floating in the sea.

"We are still monitoring this, as well as coordinating with APMM and others to overcome all of this. From a humanitarian perspective, if he (the refugees, ed.) is already near the beach, or the ship is damaged, yes, of course, the obligation to help," he said during a press conference at the ASEAN Coast Guard forum 2023 in Jakarta, Wednesday, June 7, confiscated by Antara.

The wave of the Rohingya exodus, a Muslim ethnic group from Myanmar, has been seen since at least 2017 when the military junta attacked the settlements of the Rohingya community.

According to data from the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in 2022, more than 900,000 ethnic Rohingya have fled to Cox Bazar, Bangladesh.

However, those who took refuge in Cox Bazar and other refugee bags often travel at risk at sea to seek asylum to other countries they believe guarantee a better life than in refugee camps.

Some of them were desperate to sail using wooden boats to Australia and New Zealand for asylum. However, often their boats were damaged so they were stranded in Indonesia and Malaysia.

UNHCR as quoted from its official website reported that from November 2022 to February 2033 Indonesia received five ships carrying 644 Rohingya refugees. Most of them are currently accommodated in three different locations in Aceh, namely Lhokseumawe, Pidie, and Aceh Besar (Ladong).

Of that number, data from UNHCR as of February 13, 2023, as many as 167 people continued their journey to the destination country.

Regarding Rohingya refugees, Acting Director General of the Malaysian Maritime Strengthening Agency (APMM) Vice Admiral Maritime Datuk Saiful Lizan bin Ibrahim is optimistic that the problem can be resolved together. He gave an example of several incidents, which were handled jointly between Indonesia and Malaysia.

"There was an incident when the Rohingya escape came from Sumatra, then went straight to north Malaysia, we resolved this together. I am sure that the good relations between Indonesia through Bakamla and Malaysia through APMM will ensure these issues can be resolved together. God willing, "said Datuk Saiful.

On that occasion, he also expressed his gratitude to Bakamla RI for good cooperation and coordination when the two are faced with security issues at the boundaries of Indonesian and Malaysian waters.