THE Sarawak state government must give a clear stance on the question of allowing Palestinian refugees to take refuge in the state.
Sarawak DAP chairman Chong Chien Jen, in making the above assertion, said: “The state government must make its position very clear on whether it is going to adopt the views expressed by Datuk Seri Alexander Nanta Linggi: that no Palestinian refugees should be allowed into Sarawak.”
“Even though we sympathise with the plight of the Palestinians, accepting them into Sarawak will result in clashes of ideologies and culture, and this will disrupt the existing harmony we enjoy in Sarawak.
“The state government must make it very clear that it will not open the state to the influx of these refugees,” he said in a statement today.
Chong, who is also Sarawak Pakatan Harapan chairman and Stampin MP, said it is important for the state government to make a public decision in this regard and to announce it to the people without delay.
Yesterday, Nanta said that he personally supports the stance of non-governmental bodies in Sarawak and Sabah who are against accepting Palestinians into the two Borneo states.
However, the Kapit MP did not specify that he was speaking on behalf of the Sarawak government.
He echoed the taken by the Sarawak Association for Peoples’ Aspiration (Sapa) and others cautioning the state government over the matter.
Today, Umno Youth chief Muhamad Akmal Saleh had reportedly demanded Nanta to issue an open apology and retract his statement on rejecting the idea of accepting Palestinian refugees to the state.
Protect immigration autonomy
Sapa information chief Peter John Jaban has expressed concern over the possible entry of “Hamas followers” among the asylum seekers.
“This issue is pressing for Sarawak, which was also recently identified as one of the poorest states in the country,” he said.
According to Dayak Daily, Peter called on the state to guard its immigration autonomy carefully and for Sarawak not to follow the federal administration blindly.
“If their Arab neighbours continue to deny them asylum, then what business does Malaysia have in going against global policy?” he said.
Borneo’s Plight in Malaysia Foundation president, Daniel John Jambun meanwhile said Sabah already has irregular migrants from neighbouring countries staying without documentation in 543 colonies spread throughout the state.
Sapa’s views were supported by 12 NGOs from Sabah and Sarawak.
These include Gabungan Orang Asal Sabah/Sarawak; Independent Coalition of Natives Sarawak; Gindol Initiative for Civil Society Borneo; Pertubuhan Kebajikan Rumpun Dayak Sabah; Persatuan Pembangunan Social Komuniti Sabah; Persatuan Etnik Dayak Asal Sarawak; Gerempung Raban Dayak Sarawak; Persatuan Veteran Tentera Kor Renjer; Persatuan Komuniti Bersatu Kanibongang Pitas; Forum Masyarakat Adat Dataran Tinggi Borneo; Human Rights Activist Sabah; and Sabah Sarawak Rights Australia New Zealand.
Policies for refugees
Meanwhile, a bipartisan MP group had earlier urged the government to issue a special pass for Palestinian refugees in Malaysia that will enable them to stay and work in the country temporarily.
Syerleena Abdul Rashid, who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group Malaysia on Refugee Policy, stressed the need to urgently “formulate policies that protect those who have sought temporary refuge on our shores, including those from Palestine”.
“We call for an immediate ceasefire, the urgent protection of civilians, the facilitation of unimpeded humanitarian aid, and the prevention of full-scale genocide in Gaza.
“(The government should also) start the implementation of the amended National Security Council Directive No. 23, which will grant temporary rights to refugees in Malaysia,” said the Bukit Bendera MP in a statement last month.
Currently, Malaysia is not a signatory to the United Nations’ 1951 Refugee Convention or the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees.
There are some 600 Palestinian refugees and asylum-seekers registered with the UN High Commissioner For Refugees here as of end-October, said the body.
Over 11,000 killed
Israeli airstrikes have killed 11,078 Palestinians in Gaza as of November 10, a UN relief body confirmed.
The Gaza Health Ministry has not updated the death toll since yesterday after the collapse of services and communications at hospitals in the north, it added.
Palestinian Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf Al Qidra was quoted as saying that at least 32 patients at the al-Shifa Hospital have died over the past three days, including three premature babies, Al Jazeera reported yesterday.
Operations at the largest hospital in the besieged Palestinian territory were suspended after it ran out of fuel.
In the occupied West Bank, at least 186 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces since October 7, according to the health ministry. – The Vibes, November 14, 2023
