The Dilemma of Rohingya Refugees “Boat People”: The Role of Malaysia, its Neighbors and ASEAN

This paper examines about the dilemma of Rohingya refugees who were fled from their homeland due to the denied of the rights by the Myanmar’s government by using boats. The problem happened when the agents who brought up the Rohingya left them because they aware about the presence local enforcement authorities. Thus, the Rohingya were stranded in the middle of sea, particularly in the Straits of Malacca area. The situation make their lives in limbo due to the starvation and the health issue. At first, the nearby governments like Malaysia and Indonesia as well as Thailand take the responsible to save them when some of the Rohingya boat people arrive at their shore. Nevertheless, those governments seems not to recognize the status of Rohingya as refugees due to the national’s interest. But, after some advocacy process from the international body, those governments have been organized the diplomacy meeting in order to look at this issue. This process can be describes throught the ASEAN platform. The issue of Rohingya refugees “boat people” in Straits of Malacca cannot be solve solely by Malaysia, but it needs collaboration between the particular countries in ASEAN to share the responsibility in dealing with it.