World Bulletin / News Desk

 The governor of a northern Indonesian province has expressed concern over the cost of accommodating migrants, around two weeks after boatloads of Muslim Rohingya and Bangladeshis began washing up on the region’s shores. 

"I do not remember how much, but we have spent a lot," Metro TV quoted Aceh Governor Zaini Abdullah as saying Tuesday during a visit to the presidential palace complex in Jakarta.

Abdullah asked the federal government to immediately distribute funding as the province lacked a special budget to tackle the migrants’ needs. The minister of social affairs said Sunday that assistance worth Rp2.3 billion (around $175,000) had been set aside for four shelters in Aceh.

However, Malaysia and Indonesia agreed last week to shelter the Rohingya – many of whom fled Myanmar – for one year, while repatriating the Bangladeshis.

A “government regulation in lieu of law” has been drafted to help local governments handle the migrant issue, particularly the financial cost, the director of international security and disarmament at the foreign ministry told Anadolu Agency.

"It will be signed by the president as soon as possible," Andi Rachmianto said.

The legislation can be used by local governments to demand a special budget from the central government so they will not lack the funds to provide accommodation, food and other facilities to the migrants who enter their territory.

Rachmianto added that the government's plan to send back the Bangladeshis – estimated to account for 720 out of the 1,759 migrants sheltered in Aceh – would also decrease the province’s burden.