Recently, celebrities took to the stage at Istana Budaya in support of the Rohingya community.
Reports said this was to raise awareness about humanitarian causes and peace in the world, with focus on the plight of the Rohingya in Myanmar.
However, prior to the Rohingya, the Bajau Laut community has been living in our waters for hundreds of years. They are stateless and their children face immense difficulties.
Opinions differ on their place of origin. Legend has it that they came from Ujong Tanah, some say Indonesia while others point to the Philippines.
Even if their origins are debated, the Bajau Laut community is essentially an ethnic group of Malay origin and they are also Muslims.
Articles 3 and 7 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which Malaysia has ratified, state that the best interests of the child shall be a primary consideration for legislative bodies, courts of law or administrative authorities when making decisions concerning children. The child also shall be registered immediately after birth and shall have the right to acquire a nationality.
Malaysia, however, has placed reservations on certain articles of the CRC. Isn’t it time for Malaysia to withdraw the reservations to assist these children?
There is no solution for the Bajau Laut. In helping the rest of the world, have we neglected these innocent children at our doorstep?
It would seem that we have failed to recognise their existence and habits. Being stateless, they are illegal immigrants and this prevents their parents from finding jobs to care for them.
Since legal documents on their status do not exist, they are deprived of an education and live in constant fear that they may be caught by enforcement officers. Enforcement personnel from the Peninsular Malaysia cannot differentiate them from other illegal immigrants.
These children will grow up to be illiterate adults, who will be stuck on their boats gambling between life and death to survive for the rest of their lives. They forage in rubbish dumps and most sniff glue to be able to sleep without eating. Medical treatment, I believe, depends on the sympathy of the hospitals.
Are these children being raped or molested? What happens to them when they are caught by enforcement officers?
Another concern is that these children will be targets of terrorists. To escape their hellish life, they may fall for the false promises of terrorist organisations and become a threat to countries.
It’s time to be kind to the sea people. Divine law commands us to show love and compassion towards these unfortunate children, but manmade laws may prevent us from doing so.
It is not wrong to recognise the Rohingya by creating a special document for their needs, but it should also be the same for the Bajau Laut. Whether we like it or not, they are becoming part of our society. We must accept them and learn from them.
As these children will say “Ma rilaut aniak kamemon, ai ai sajja kabalahian nu. Min kaa na amiha” (Everything is there in the sea. Whatever you need is there. It’s for you to find).
Ariff Shah R.K.,
Penang