Transcript of replies by Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Balaji Sadasivan to questions in Parliament, 24 March 2009

TRANSCRIPT OF REPLY BY SENIOR MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS BALAJI SADASIVAN TO PARLIAMENTARY QUESTIONS, 24 MARCH 2009

4* Ms Eunice Elizabeth Olsen: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs (a) what concerns does the government have about the plight of the Rohingya refugees; (b) what is the Government doing within the auspices of ASEAN to solve the problem; and (c) what will be our approach should Rohingya refugees flee to our shores.

5* Ms Eunice Elizabeth Olsen: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs (a) whether any Rohingya refugees have entered Singapore waters so far and, if so, what has been the response by the authorities; and (b) if not, how are the authorities going to manage the situation if the Rohingya refugees were to attempt to do so.
______________________________________________________________

1 Since the next two questions are on the topic of Rohingya refugees, please allow me to take question 4 and 5 together. ASEAN has discussed the issue of the Rohingyas, most recently on 1 March 2009 at the 14th ASEAN Summit in Thailand. Prime Minister Lee told the ASEAN Leaders that ASEAN member countries should not "export" their problems to one another. He also stressed that the problem should be addressed at the source. Singapore agreed that cooperation among the countries of origin, transit, and destination was of great importance. We also agreed that the Rohingya issue has to be viewed in a larger context, as it involves countries outside of ASEAN as well. To this end, the Bali Process, which is a regional Ministerial-level Conference on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons and Related Transnational Crimes, was the appropriate forum to tackle this issue. ASEAN will continue to contribute, where possible, to the resolution of this issue. Among other things, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers tasked ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan to work with the Myanmar Government to obtain relevant statistics and information related to the Rohingya population. Such information will help in the formulation of a coordinated response by the various stakeholders.

2 PM also stressed to his ASEAN colleagues that the humanitarian angle must be addressed seriously. We have a responsibility to treat the Rohingyas and other illegal migrants in a humane manner. Any reports of abuse should be investigated. We should also alleviate their plight where possible, including for naval vessels which encounter Rohingyas at sea to render appropriate assistance, such as by providing food, water and fuel.

3 As a small country, Singapore understands why countries are not in a position to accept every refugee who arrives on their shores. Thus far, the authorities have not encountered any Rohingya refugees seeking to enter Singapore waters. Given our limited land and natural resources, Singapore is not in a position to accept persons seeking political asylum or refugee status. This has been our policy for decades. However, we will assist such persons by providing humanitarian assistance, so that they can depart for a third country.

. . . . .
______________________________________________________________

TRANSCRIPT OF REPLIES BY SENIOR MINISTER OF STATE FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS BALAJI SADASIVAN TO SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS IN PARLIAMENT, 24 MARCH 2009

Ms Eunice Elizabeth Olsen: I just want to ask, as you said the PM had previously said that we have to treat the Rohingyas humanely so if they are caught trying to seek refuge in Singapore, will we... will they be treated as all other illegal immigrants which means that they will be brought to court and face caning?

SMS Balaji: Speaker Sir, as PM has mentioned, we will deal with them humanely. Thank you.

Speaker: Last question.

Mdm Halimah Yacob: I just want to ask the Senior Minister of State whether these Rohingyas, the Rohingya issue, which is a long-standing issue and obviously a humanitarian issue, and the way it is dealt with reflects poorly on ASEAN, in the sense that it is not able to handle an issue like this, what does it augur for future issues of this nature or other issues that come about, in terms of how ASEAN is able to effectively deal with such issues?

SMS Balaji: The issue is of course not good publicity for ASEAN. In fact, it is bad publicity for ASEAN. However the fact that the ASEAN Leaders have met and agreed to deal with the issue and make sure that we try to solve the problem at the source, and the fact that ASEAN Leaders have tasked the ASEAN Secretary-General to look into the issue and report to the various countries, are very positive. But the issue cannot be dealt with within ASEAN itself because it involves non-ASEAN countries. And so the Bali Process would be the better forum, and ASEAN will be represented within the Bali Process. So we hope that all the countries involved will work towards resolving this issue and Singapore's position is to encourage ASEAN countries towards that end.

. . . . .