Tag Archives: Malaysia
22 May 2015
The United Nations refugee agency has said it is ‘extremely alarmed’ at reports suggesting that Indonesian and Malaysian authorities have pushed back boats carrying numerous migrants from Myanmar and Bangladesh. According to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the Indonesian navy stated that it had escorted a boat out to sea this week in a move which may signify a change in the government’s overall policy. Similarly, Malaysia’s Maritime Enforcement Agency announced that it would prohibit foreign ships from docking unless they are unseaworthy and sinking. (more…)
Source: UN News Centre | UN voices alarm over ‘pushbacks’ of boats carrying migrants in Southeast Asia
24 June 2014
On 21 June, the United States denied the existence of any agreement with Sri Lanka that allows Sri Lanka’s oil refinery near Colombo to import crude oil from Iran via third parties, avoiding sanctions intended to constrain Iran’s nuclear program. According to Keheliya Rambukwella, Sri Lanka’s Media Minister and government spokesman, Sri Lanka has been importing Iranian oil from several countries, including Malaysia, through third parties, with the understanding of the US. (more…)
Source: Reuters | U.S denies any agreement allowing Sri Lanka to import Iran crude via third parties
Source: Reuters | RPT-Sri Lanka imports Iran crude via 3rd parties, avoids sanctions
7 April 2014
With Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 being officially declared lost at sea, and as the international search efforts hone in on the location of the aircraft, it is time to asses not only what this teaches us about aviation safety, but also the consequences of shared responsibility for international search and rescue operations.
Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 went missing on the 8th March, losing communication around an hour after taking off from Kuala Lumpur on route to Beijing. The fact that the airplane was missing for a number of hours, and that its communication devices were mostly switched off, meant that from the outset it was unclear where it might have come down, if indeed it had come down at all. The initial suggestions were that the plane was off the coast of Vietnam, or further out in the China Sea. This was followed by information that it had made a sharp turn towards the Straight of Malacca, and thereafter might have followed either a broad northern or southern corridor. (more…)
12 March 2014
Reuters reports that while Malaysia is conducting an investigation into the missing Flight MH370, with the assistance of foreign governments and agencies, they do not have the legal powers needed for a formal international probe under UN-sanctioned rules. Such powers include the right to take testimony from witnesses, the right to have exclusive control over the release of information and ability to centralise evidence. Additionally, under a formal investigation, a board is established comprised of the plane maker, engine maker, unions, the airline and aviation safety regulatory agency of the country where the airline is based. Furthermore, no other state has taken the lead in an official probe into the missing Flight MH370. Industry experts say this leadership vacuum is unprecedented. (more…)
Source: Reuters | Legal limbo hampers probe into missing Malaysia jet
Source: Free Malaysia Today | Legal limbo hampering search for missing plane
7 January 2014
A Reuters investigation revealed that Thai naval security forces were involved in the smuggling of Rohingya Muslims who fled Myanmar (also known as Burma) in growing numbers over the last year following outbreaks of religious violence in Myanmar. A smuggling network, centred on the west coast of southern Thailand, transported thousands of Rohingya mainly into neighbouring Malaysia, a Muslim-majority country the Rohingya view as a haven from persecution. In addition to the Royal Thai Navy, the coastal seas are patrolled by the Thai Marine Police and by militias under the control of military commanders. (more…)
Source: Reuters | Special Report: Thailand secretly supplies Myanmar refugees to trafficking rings
Source: Reuters | U.N., U.S. call for investigations into Thai trafficking of Rohingya
Source: Reuters | UPDATE 1-Thai navy denies allegation of Rohingya Muslim smuggling
Source: UN News Centre | UN human rights office concerned about Thai Navy defamation case against reporters
