KUALA LUMPUR, April 27 — Amid xenophobic and hateful comments on Malaysia’s social media channels about the Rohingya, Islamist party PAS has called for everyone to take a calm, rational look at the issue in light of the fact that the refugees are victims of ethnic cleansing.
PAS’ international bureau chief, Muhammad Khalil Abdul Hadi, urged Malaysians to strive for a better understanding of the issue within the framework of the country’s sovereignty and humanitarian considerations, while bearing in mind the urgent need to curb the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic as of now.
“To the people, you must understand the real issues of genocide, the plight of refugees and human trafficking syndicates. Avoid taking advantage of the situation.
“To the government of Malaysia, you need to secure borders, but show compassion to refugees and formulate a concrete, long-term solution,” he said in a statement today.
Khalil also said that regional and international bodies should also help to deal with the situation, where Asean could call for a dialogue, provide cross-border assistance as well as deal with the issues of sovereignty and humanity together.
He also urged the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) to be a protector of the Rohingya and raise funds for them, as well as the United Nations (UN) to push for peace and independence in Arakan Province from the Myanmar government.
In recent days, some social media users in Malaysia have railed against Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organisation Malaysia president Zafar Ahmad Abdul Ghani and the Rohingya community in general, accusing them of being lawbreakers and criminals.
In addition, an online petition has been launched, urging the government to ignore tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees affected by the movement control order (MCO).
Yesterday, the Rohingya Women Development Network (RWDN) and Elom Empowerment (Elom) issued a joint statement denying that Rohingya refugees are dominating the Selayang wholesale market and habitually breaking laws, saying this claim is “factually incorrect”.
Both organisations explained that the Rohingya community working in the area, also known as the Kuala Lumpur wholesale market, are merely employees and have no economic control over it.
On April 18, Human Rights Watch reported that the Royal Malaysian Navy turned back a boat carrying about 200 Rohingya men, women and children, despite reportedly providing food to those on board two days prior.
The European Rohingya Council Ambassador to Malaysia Tengku Emma Zuriana Tengku Azmi also on April 22 called on governments in the region, especially Asean members, to allow the Rohingya immediate and safe disembarkation and urgently agree to emergency measures to prevent another humanitarian crisis, while accommodating governments’ existing Covid-19 restrictions at their borders.
