SHAH ALAM: Selangor must strike a balance between enforcing regulations and addressing humanitarian concerns in dealing with Rohingya refugees, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari said.
While the state government cannot independently determine the status, employment or placement of refugees, Amirudin said simply driving them away could create further social problems.
“There are humanitarian factors that we have to consider. If we drive everyone away, eventually they could end up living by the roadside, and that could create other social problems.
“So we have to strike a balance,” he told reporters after the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Smartsel Sdn Bhd and PG LinkaranFibre Sdn Bhd today.
His comments came in response to a question on whether Selangor had plans to place Rohingya refugees in the industrial sector.
Amirudin said any further arrangements would depend on the completion of their registration process, as refugee management falls under the jurisdiction of the Home Ministry.
“They have to be registered. This is under the jurisdiction of the Home Ministry, and we are waiting for the registration process to be completed before we can organise and make further arrangements,” he said.
He said the state government was limited in what it could do, including in issuing licences or granting official permission, although private arrangements such as individuals renting out their homes to refugees were outside the state’s jurisdiction.
The issue also extended beyond the Rohingya community, Amirudin said, noting that there were other stateless individuals in the country.
“Stateless people are not only Rohingya; there are many others. But we will focus on them first,” he said.
Selangor has meanwhile begun gathering data on Rohingya and other stateless individuals through its district security committees, with Hulu Langat having completed its data collection exercise.
“Other districts will also collect the information, which we will submit to the Home Ministry for further action together with UNHCR,” Amirudin said.
On the longer-term solution, he said repatriation would be preferable where possible, although this would depend on the cooperation and consent of the governments concerned.
“As far as possible, we want to send them back, but repatriation requires the agreement of their government,” he said.