DHAKA: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the best Malaysia could do right now is to call for a meeting of Southeast Asian leaders, and pressure Myanmar to accommodate the Rohingya community.

The migrant crisis currently facing Malaysia can only be resolved by addressing the root problems in Myanmar and Bangladesh, the former Malaysian Prime Minister suggested Monday even as thousands remain adrift at sea, reports the Malaymail Online

“The Rohingyas are really suffering, but the Bangladeshis are simply unemployed and very poor. We have to tackle their problem in their country, not here,” Dr Mahathir said in his book launch,

He was answering DAP’s Bukit Bendera MP Zairil Khir Johari, who asked for possible solutions to looming crisis.

“Call a meeting of Southeast Asian leaders at least. Tell Myanmar ‘you can’t do this and create a problem for us’.

“This is too big a problem for us to handle,” Dr Mahathir told reporters afterwards.

He also slammed the Myanmar government and Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi for failing to recognise the Rohingyas who have lived in the country for decades.

“We used to help Suu Kyi, but now we find that they do not care at all about the plight of the Rohingyas.

“There is no more value in the Nobel Peace Prize, even people like Obama could receive it,” he said, referring to US President Barack Obama.

“But when I asked for it, I did not get it,” Dr Mahathir added in apparent jest.

Migrant activists estimate that some 8,000 Bangladeshi and Rohingya remain stranded at sea after people smugglers abandoned ship following a Thai crackdown on human trafficking.

National news agency Bernama reported Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak as saying on Saturday that Malaysia must not be burdened with the “problem” of Rohingya refugees as it is an issue that must be addressed collectively by all Asean countries.

BDST: 1120 HRS, MAY 19, 2015
RS/SMS