KUALA LUMPU : Malaysia announced on Thursday that Myanmar had agreed to take back 5,000 Rohingya from Malaysia following negotiations held between the two countries.
The step came as a result of talks conducted by the Malaysian government and its diplomatic relations with other countries, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said in a speech during a local electoral campaign.
This measure opens room for the return of a large mumber of Rohingya refugees existing in Malaysia, he noted.
He noted that he instructed police to take strict measures against those who make chaos, stressing that his government would use zero tolerance for disorder.
The announcement came a few das after Malaysia’s authorities had detained dozens of Rohingya refugees following their gathering in front of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Kuala Lumpur.
Malaysia is hosting above 215,000 refugees and asylum seekers registered with the UN refugee agency, including over 126,000 members of Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya minority, making them the largest refugee community in the country. –KUNA