Langkawi: Long-standing perceptions linking Bukit Malut in Langkawi to the Rohingya community, criminal activities, and drug trafficking are unfounded and inconsistent with official data, according to an academic from Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM).
According to BERNAMA News Agency, Associate Professor Dr. Mohd Na'eim Ajis of the College of Law, Government and International Studies (COLGIS), Universiti Utara Malaysia, stated that the majority of Bukit Malut residents are Malaysian citizens holding valid MyKads. He emphasized that studies and data from authorities show that approximately 92.2 percent of the settlement's estimated 5,500 residents possess MyKads, while the remainder are facing documentation issues.
Dr. Mohd Na'eim addressed misconceptions that frame Bukit Malut as a Rohingya settlement or a landing point for Rohingya refugees, labeling it inaccurately as a settlement area for foreigners. He also refuted associations with drug trafficking and its reputation as a crime hotspot, noting that official data indicates a low crime rate with no serious crimes reported over the past five years.
He stressed that the negative perceptions surrounding Bukit Malut must be corrected, advocating for equal treatment and development opportunities for its residents, who are Malaysians. Dr. Mohd Na'eim proposed that the government formulate a comprehensive development plan to enhance the residents' quality of life while addressing the stigma that has persisted since the settlement's establishment about four decades ago.
Tracing the settlement's history, Dr. Mohd Na'eim explained that Bukit Malut's origins date back to the Japanese occupation of Malaya between 1942 and 1945, when thousands of people from Malaya, including Kedah, were forced to work on the construction of the Burma Railway. After the war, some laborers from Kedah settled in Ranong, near the Thai-Myanmar border. In the 1980s, through initiatives by the Federal Government and the Kedah Government, this group of ethnic Malays from Kedah was repatriated and resettled in Langkawi on humanitarian grounds, later becoming known as the Kedah Muslim Malays (MIK).
Dr. Mohd Na'eim proposed that efforts to address issues affecting Bukit Malut should extend beyond relocation and include a strategic public communication campaign to correct misconceptions about the settlement. He called for a structured framework to transform Bukit Malut's image, suggesting that higher education institutions could organize community engagement programmes to allow the public to see the actual situation in Bukit Malut.
Previously linked to alleged Rohingya settlements and identified as a transit point for drug trafficking in Langkawi, Bukit Malut has also attracted attention over land ownership disputes involving various parties. As of May this year, the area was estimated to have a population of about 5,500 people living in more than 1,400 houses built on both land and over water.