KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will be deploying humanitarian aid to Bangladesh to help Rohingya refugees caught in Myanmar's internal conflict.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said the Defence Ministry will be sending an integrated humanitarian mission to help Rohingya refugees currently seeking shelter at Chittagong, Bangladesh, after fleeing the atrocities brought about by the Myanmar military in Rakhine.
"The mission, which will be launched tomorrow, has the agreement of the Bangladeshi governmen. The aid would be handed directly to the Rohingya seeking refuge there.
"This is a humanitarian issue and not a religious issue.
"Barisan Nasional, taking into consideration the recent peaceful demonstrations held here in Kuala Lumpur, want to make it clear that we will stand by the Rohingya who have been denied basic human rights in Myanmar," he said.
Najib said Malaysia has obtained approval from their counterparts in Bangladesh to deliver the integrated humanitarian aid directly to those affected at the border.
"BN is determined to fight for the cause including taking into consideration Asean's, the United Nations and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation's (OIC) call, " he told reporters after chairing the BN Supreme Council meeting, here today.
Asked if Malaysia is open to accepting more refugees from Rakhine, Najib said Malaysia would manage the influx of Rohingya refugees on a humanitarian basis, although he described the situation as "unfair".
"Malaysia has always upheld the principles of human rights and sanctity of life but at the same time, we cannot be hosting so many people in our country. We need to solve the problem or find a solution at the source.
"It's unfair for affected parties to inflict more cost on Malaysia to receive and manage more refugees," he said.
He said these people should be allowed their fundamental and universal rights, which they had been denied of.
Najib added that he would raise the Rohingya issue to United States President Donald Trump during his official visit to the White House next week.
Earlier, in a statement, it was announced that the mission is expected to launched by Najib himself and would be led by the Malaysian Armed Forces with the support of the 1Malaysia For Youth voluntary organisation.
"The mission is to demonstrate Malaysia's strong protest over the continued suppression of the Rohingya in Myanmar by the local military," read the statement.
Reports have indicated that around 150,000 Rohingya refugees have fled into Bangladesh, as a result of a military response to attacks mainly at Rakhine State, west Myanmar.
The mission would see the delivery of aid comprehensively arranged by Malaysia Airlines and to be distributed by a team of Malaysian volunteers drawn from various organisations with the cooperation of Malindo Air.
In order to ensure more effective channelling of the aid, discussions would be held on a plan to set up a military hospital in the area with the agreement of the Bangladesh authorities.
"As members of the Asean community that uphold the values of humanity and universal well-being, Malaysia urges the Myanmar government to resolve the turmoil in line with the principle of protection of human rights as embodied in the Asean Charter and Asean Human Rights Declaration as well as the resolutions approved at the extraordinary session OIC Council of Foreign Ministers on Jan 19 this year," read the statement.
Prior to the Defence Ministry mission, several non-governmental organisations had deployed humanitarian missions from Malaysia to Bangladesh for the same cause to help Rohingya refugees.