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Penang may host boat people settlements

Malaysian officials are looking at the northern state of Penang as a possible site for temporary resettlement areas for Bangladeshi and Rohingya boat people, a news report said today.

Inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar was quoted by The Star newspaper as saying that Penang is a suitable location as a temporary resettlement site “to make it easier for us to move the migrants”.

Penang is a state located in the northwest coast of the Malaysian peninsula. Part of Penang is on the mainland and part is an island with the same name.

“The government may look to Penang to build the temporary settlement so that it will be easier for the agencies to manage the placement of Rohingya migrants,” The Star quoted Khalid ( photo ) as saying.

“We will be careful when documenting the migrants with the help of the Immigration Department,” he added.

Malaysia and Indonesia agreed earlier in the week to allow into their territories thousands of Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants believed to be drifting aboard rickety boats in South-East Asian waters.

The Malaysian navy and coast guard ships have yet to recover migrants’ vessels in its territories since Kuala Lumpur decided on Wednesday to allow the boat people to land on its shores.

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak ordered the navy and the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, which is equivalent to the coast guard, to actively search for migrants’ vessels.

- dpa

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