KL concerned Islamic State will find willing recruits among oppressed Rohingya
Victims might be drawn to terror group, says Hisham
THE Defence Ministry is concerned that militant groups such as the Islamic State (IS) could exploit the crisis affecting the Rohingya, who were left “vulnerable and without a choice”.
Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said yesterday IS, which had plans to gain a foothold in the region, could use the crisis as a basis to recruit members of the Rohingya community.
“We cannot leave them (the Rohingya) desperate and wanting, because if they are and they turn to these groups, countries in this region would have to pay the price,” he said.
Hishammuddin said Malaysia had to be proactive in preventing the spread of ideologies by militant groups, adding that, for instance, to prevent such ideologies from coming into the country from Marawi in the Philippines, a trilateral agreement was set up with Indonesia and the Philippines for joint patrols in the Sulu Sea.
He said he had instructed Armed Forces chief General Tan Sri Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor to come up with a plan on how to help Rohingya refugees, including those in Bangladesh, as well as the community in Myanmar.
Asked if he would meet his Myanmar counterpart over the issue, he said there were no plans yet.
However, he said, the government was looking at using diplomatic
channels as Malaysia had no issues with its fellow Asean state.
“We have no problems ... the last eight shipments (aid for refugees) were done in cooperation with their military.
“I am not sure what we are going to do this time, but I will leave it to Raja Affandi to figure out the best way to do this.”
Asked if Malaysia would consider sending a peacekeeping force, Hishammuddin said that
was for the United Nations to decide.
Hishammuddin was speaking to reporters after sending off the first batch of the Malaysian Battalion (Malbatt) 850-5.
Malbatt 850-5 will serve in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon for a year, replacing Malbatt 850-4.
The 215 members in the first batch took off yesterday from the Subang airbase in a chartered AirAsia Airbus A330.