KL orders rescue of migrants at sea

KUALA LUMPUR, May 21 (Agencies):  Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said Thursday he had ordered the navy to conduct search and rescue missions for thousands of migrants adrift at sea as Thailand's prime minister said his country would not provide shelter.

Southeast Asia is battling a migrant crisis that has seen hundreds of "boat people", mostly Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar and Bangladeshi migrants who fled persecution and poverty at home or were abducted by traffickers, pushed back out to sea by Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia.

Many now face sickness, and possible starvation. "I have further ordered Rasmi (navy) and APMM (Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency) to conduct search and rescue efforts on Rohingya boats," Najib said on his Twitter account.

"We have to prevent loss of life," he said, adding that humanitarian aid would be delivered by land and sea. Malaysia and Indonesia on Wednesday said they would let as many as 7,000 migrants on the seas now to come ashore temporarily, but no more.

For decades, ethnic minority Rohingya have suffered from state-sanctioned discrimination in majority-Buddhist Myanmar and are denied citizenship. The Malaysian and Indonesian foreign ministers were in Myanmar Thursday for talks on the crisis.

Armanatha Nasir, a spokesman for Indonesia's foreign ministry, said Indonesia would not put pressure on Myanmar. "We will continue to encourage Myanmar in their process of reform and democratization. Because in the end we believe it will create an environment conducive for the Rohingya."

The United Nations has been calling on governments in the region to rescue the migrants. More than 3,000 have been rescued by locals or come ashore in Indonesia and Malaysia this month.

Meanwhile, In a major breakthrough that could ease to some extent the Southeast Asia's migrant crisis, the Malaysian Indian Muslim Restaurant Owners Association (Presma) has offered to hire the Rohingya and Bangladeshi boat migrants who have been temporarily allowed to land in Malaysia.

Presma president Noorul Hassan Saul Hameed said if the proposal is not contrary to any government policy, the migrants are welcome to work at any of the restaurants affiliated to the association, according a report of Malaysian the Star Online posted Thursday.

"We would like to extend our help to the victims who are just like our brothers and sisters," Saul Hameed said Wednesday.

He said many of its members have expressed willingness to provide job opportunities to the migrants to help them stand on their own feet.

"We're not forcing the government or our members. We're proposing this on a humanitarian basis, as some of our members have expressed willingness to help the migrants. We have to understand that if they are allowed to land on our shores, they still need to feed their families. If they have jobs, they are less likely to be involved in  social problems or crime," he said.