Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today criticised the Penang government for hypocrisy on human rights after refusing to take in Rohingya refugees in the state.

 

He likened the Penang government led by Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to a loud rooster that can't walk its talk ('kokokkan ayam jantan yang tiada telurnya').

 

"Of course we want to see the sincerity of the Penang government led by DAP with partners PKR and PAS, which have all this while championed for human rights and always blamed the (federal) government for not undertaking a humanitarian policy of accepting refugees.

 

"We are confident the federal government is sincere in providing land for shelter for the refugees compared to the Penang government," he told a press conference in Kajang this afternoon.

 

After more than a week of forcing the Rohingya refugees on boats out of Malaysian waters, Putrajaya has finally agreed to temporarily house the refugees.

 

Inspector-general of police Khalid Abu Bakar ( photo ) had proposed for Penang to house the refugees, prompting Lim to say that the state was not suitable for this as it is too densely populated.

 
"We are struggling to figure out where in Penang he (Khalid) has in mind.
 
"Our state is too densely populated to be suitable," he was quoted as saying by The Star .
 
Instead, Lim said the federal government should provide land for this, adding that Penang already housed 50,000 refugees.
 
The Rohingyas have fled Myanmar in droves to escape prosecution but have been adrift at sea as no countries were willing to take them in.
 
Malaysia and Indonesia subsequently negotiated a deal with the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to temporarily host the refugees for a year.

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