Police say relocation of 121 Rohingya from Penang settlement was voluntary and coordinated for public safety and order.
KEPALA BATAS: The relocation of 121 Rohingya from a temporary settlement at the former Penaga tsunami site in Kuala Muda here was carried out voluntarily and coordinated by various government agencies to ensure public safety and order.
Seberang Perai Utara police chief ACP Anuar Abdul Rahman said police were informed that the group travelled to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Kuala Lumpur yesterday.
He said the relocation followed economic competition and pressure on residential areas resulting from the growing Rohingya population at the settlement.
“The relocation process was carried out voluntarily by the Rohingya themselves with the assistance and coordination from the National Unity and Integration Department (JPNIN), the state government, the National Security Council (MKN), local community representatives and Rohingya representatives.
“It was monitored and coordinated by the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) to ensure public safety and order,” he said in a statement today.
Anuar urged the public not to sensationalise the issue in ways that could jeopardise public safety and order.
He said enquiries on the matter could be directed to Seberang Perai Utara District Police Headquarters Internal Security and Public Order Department chief DSP Fakhruz Zaman Husin at 04-5762222.
It was reported in the media that hundreds of Rohingya refugees gathered outside the UNHCR office in Jalan Bukit Petaling, Kuala Lumpur, after arriving in the capital early today on three buses following their relocation from the settlement in Penang.
Commenting on the matter, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said the government would not compromise with any refugee group that disrupted public order or attempted to take control of any area in the country.
He said enforcement agencies, including the PDRM, Immigration Department and local authorities, had been instructed to take firm action against anyone found violating the law.
