GEORGE TOWN: After sparking a political spat between the Penang government and Putrajaya for suggesting that Rohingya refugees be housed in Penang, Tan Sri Khalid Abu Bakar said yesterday it is up to the parties concerned to think of a suitable location.

The inspector-general of police said he had merely suggested Penang as it would make things more convenient to host the refugees there temporarily.

“I suggested the state because I think it would be easier to take care of the people there with the existing infrastructure,” he said in Wang Kelian, Perlis, where a mass grave, believed to be of Rohingya and Bangladeshi refugees, was found near the Thai-Malaysian border yesterday.

“Let the other parties figure out the exact location [in the state].

“I have talked about it and I don’t want to elaborate further. Many others have now made statements in response to it.”

Last Friday, Khalid suggested Penang as a suitable location to temporarily house the 7,000 Rohingya refugees, who had fled persecution in Myanmar via people smugglers and were still adrift at sea.

He said it would be easier to send them away later if they are placed in a northern state.

Malaysia and neighbouring Indonesia, following criticism for turning away the refugees who were trying to land about two weeks ago, announced last week that both countries would take in the refugees for a year, pending a resettling solution by the international community. — The Malaysian Insider

This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on May 26, 2015.