KL, Jakarta agree to offer temporary shelter to migrants

KUALA LUMPUR, May 20 (Reuters): Malaysia and Indonesia said Wednesday they would offer shelter to 7,000 "boat people" adrift at sea in rickety boats but, anxious not to encourage a fresh influx, made clear that their assistance was temporary and they would take no more.
More than 3,000 migrants have landed so far this month in Malaysia and Indonesia. Together with Thailand, they have opted for a "not-in-my-backyard" policy in response, pushing away many boats that approached their shores despite appeals from the United Nations to take them in.
The migrants are Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar and Bangladeshis - men, women and children who fled persecution and poverty at home or were abducted by traffickers, and now face sickness and starvation at sea.
"What we have clearly stated is that we will take in only those people in the high sea," Malaysian Foreign Minister Anifah Aman said. "But under no circumstances would we be expected to take each one of them if there is an influx of others." Malaysia and Indonesia said in a joint statement in Kuala Lumpur that they would offer "resettlement and repatriation", a process that would be "done in a year by the international community".
BBC adds: Migrants found by the BBC last week drifting off the coast of Thailand have been rescued by Indonesian fishermen.
A BBC reporter who reached their boat says it is filthy and insect infested.