Arakan News Agency
KUALA LUMPUR: Federal Government facilities and premises will be used to house Rohingya refugees in Penang, said Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (pic).
“It would be better if leaders who have been champions of human rights to translate what they have been calling for on the political stage and in the Dewan Rakyat into action instead of passing the burden to other parties,” he added.
Speaking at a press conference at the Parliament lobby on Monday, Ahmad Zahid said that his statement on Sunday was a humanitarian and not political one.
On Sunday, Ahmad Zahid said the Federal Government was challenging Penang to prove the state was the “champion of human rights it claims to be” – by giving shelter to stranded Rohingyas and Bangladeshis.
This was after Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had asked for the migrants to be sheltered in Federal-owned land, saying that the state was lacking in space and had not been consulted by the National Security Council.
Ahmad Zahid said several locations besides Penang had been identified as temporary camps for the stranded migrants, but insisted that the DAP-led state take them in.
“We want to see the sincerity of the Penang government, led by DAP that are partners with PKR and PAS, that claims to champion human rights and is always asking the Government to adopt humanitarian policies.
“They should accept the migrants into Penang,” Ahmad Zahid told reporters at the Kajang prison during the Ministry’s Family Day celebration on Sunday.
“The Home Ministry and UNHCR have taken the necessary steps to find suitable, legal steps to house the Rohingyas in a third country. We know Turkey is willing to take them in,” said Ahmad Zahid.
Source : .thestar
