Vietnam Daily News

Malaysian boat disaster raises asylum pressure

Written by Dailynews.vn Saturday, 04 February 2012 20:46

A boat with up to 30 asylum-seekers has sunk off the coast of Malaysia, claiming at least eight lives.

The incident has intensified pressure on Labour and the Coalition to cut a deal on asylum policy.

Malaysian authorities were last night scouring the waters for survivors after the 11m craft sank seven nautical miles off the coast of Johor on the southeastern tip of Malaysia.

The accident occurred in high seas and bad weather and the Indonesia-bound vessel had been overloaded, local police said. It is the second such disaster in as many months.

In December, about 200 asylum-seekers drowned when their overloaded boat sank off the coast of Java en route to Australia.

The disaster brought the rancorous asylum debate to a head and prompted demands the two major parties find a way to restore Australia's offshore processing regime, struck down by the High Court last year.

Yesterday, both the government and the opposition were careful to avoid a fresh exchange of political salvos while the search for survivors continued. Neither side would say if this latest disaster would prompt fresh moves towards a deal.

Immigration minister Chris Bowen said he was saddened to hear of the disaster.

The sinking was the latest in a "series of tragedies that have seen asylum-seekers die at sea en route to Australia" and it underscored the need for tough deterrents.

"As we have consistently pointed out, the absence of a disincentive for boat journeys to Australia will mean people will continue to undertake these dangerous journeys," he said in a statement.

The opposition immigration spokesman, Scott Morrison, also declined to buy into the politics of the latest tragedy, saying the immediate focus must be supporting any rescue effort.

"Sadly, these events have been occurring for some years," he said. "The Coalition remains as committed as ever to the policies we believe will have the right impact on preventing these tragedies."

Kota Tinngi police chief Superintendent Che Mahazan said police were notified at 8am on Wednesday that a number of bodies had been washed ashore.

When police arrived on the beach at Kuala Sedilli, a small fishing village off the coast of Johor, they found the bodies of eight men aged 20-35.

With them were 12 male survivors, who were taken into custody.

Six more men were apprehended that evening, Superintendent Mahazan said.

The survivors identified themselves as Afghans, Pakistani and Iraqis, although none had identity documents.

Superintendent Mahazan said three Indonesian operators had escaped and remained at large.

Superintendent Mahazan said the boat had been en route to Indonesia, but that Australia was probably the final destination.

"I cannot confirm that (they were headed to Australia), but I think that would be their final destination," Superintendent Mahazan said.

Drowning accidents involving asylum-seekers setting out from Malaysia happened about once a year, Superintendent Mahazan said, and this was the first known case this year.

It appears the people-smugglers were using the longer and more risky South China Sea passage to avoid surveillance of the usual routes across the Straits of Malacca.

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/national-affairs/immigration/malaysian-boat-disaster-raises-asylum-pressure/story-fn9hm1gu-1226261269055?from=hot-topics-Nation

Source: www.intellasia.net/news/articles/society/111355400.shtml