KOTA BHARU, Oct 21 — The Kelantan government has instructed all district officers to collect data on the number and locations of Myanmar refugees throughout the state as a preparatory step to address issues related to the community.
State Local Government, Housing, Health and Environment Committee chairman Hilmi Abdullah said that so far, the state government has only received data from the Tanah Merah district, which recorded about 80 families involving more than 300 individuals, in Kampung Padang Guchil, who cultivate betel leaves over an area of two hectares.
He said the village heads were also asked to help conduct a census in their respective villages to obtain information about the community settlement.
“The collection of this data is important to enable the state government to monitor the presence of Myanmar Rohingya refugees, including identifying their settlement areas throughout Kelantan,” he said to reporters after attending the exco meeting at the Kota Darulnaim Complex here today.
Commenting on the jurisdiction of the state government, Hilmi said the state’s powers are limited to matters related to land and premises, including illegal encroachment of government land, violations of private land use conditions, and compliance with business licences under the local authority (PBT).
“If there is encroachment on government land or violation of land conditions, we can take action according to the relevant legal provisions.
“We hope that the issue of Myanmar refugees is not solely placed on the state government, considering our limited jurisdiction in handling that community,” he also said.
Meanwhile, Hilmi added that the state government does not want the settlement of Myanmar refugees to be concentrated in one area, forming a separate colony that could potentially cause problems in the future. — Bernama