Over the decades, I have had the privilege of meeting people from many different countries and cultures. As a student in the United States, I met international students and refugees who had fled war, persecution, and hardship. Later, as a lecturer in Malaysian universities, I taught students from every continent. Some came from prosperous nations, while others carried the invisible scars of conflict and displacement.
Those experiences taught me something that no textbook ever could. Behind every nationality, every ethnicity, and every refugee label is simply a human being trying to build a better future.
Yet I have also witnessed how issues that begin on university campuses or within refugee communities often spill over into wider Malaysian society. Few issues have generated as much anger and hostility as the Rohingya. Social media is filled with sweeping accusations that paint an entire community with the same brush. Legitimate concerns about immigration, national security, and public resources are too often mixed with language that strips people of their humanity.
What troubles me most, however, is not the political debate. It is the attitude towards Rohingya children.
These children did not choose where they were born. They did not choose the violence, persecution, and fear that forced their families to flee Myanmar. They did not choose to become refugees. Yet many are denied something that should never be treated as a privilege reserved only for the fortunate: an education.
As someone who has taught students from many backgrounds, I find this deeply disturbing. A classroom should be a place where prejudice is left at the door. I never asked whether a student came from a wealthy country, a poor country, or a war-torn nation before deciding whether they deserved to learn. Education remains one of humanity's greatest tools for breaking the cycle of poverty, despair, and hopelessness.
Ironically, denying children an education often creates the very problems that critics fear. Children who grow up without schooling have fewer opportunities to acquire skills, secure meaningful employment, integrate into society, and contribute positively to their communities. Exclusion breeds frustration, vulnerability, and exploitation. Education, by contrast, offers hope, purpose, and a pathway towards becoming responsible and productive adults.
This is not simply an act of compassion. It is an investment in Malaysia's own future.
A better educated refugee population is less likely to be drawn into crime or other destructive activities born of desperation. Education promotes social stability, strengthens public safety, and reduces the long-term costs of marginalisation. It is far wiser to invest in classrooms today than to pay for the consequences of exclusion tomorrow.
Nor should we ignore the future beyond today's crisis. One day, peace may return to Myanmar. When that day comes, educated Rohingya men and women will possess the knowledge and skills needed to rebuild their homeland. Those who experienced kindness and opportunity in Malaysia are also more likely to remember this country with gratitude, creating lasting goodwill and strengthening future ties in trade, investment, education, and regional cooperation.
We can and should have honest discussions about immigration policy, border security, and the responsibilities of governments. Every sovereign nation has the right to protect its borders and safeguard its national interests. But those debates should never blind us to the humanity of children whose only misfortune was to be born into circumstances beyond their control.
History will not judge us solely by the laws we passed or the borders we defended. It will also judge us by how we treated the most vulnerable among us.
After meeting people from every corner of the world, I have come to believe that compassion is not measured by how we treat those who are like us. It is measured by how we treat those who have the least power, the fewest choices, and the greatest need.
The measure of our humanity is not found in the opportunities we give to the fortunate. It is found in whether we are willing to extend hope to those who have almost nothing. By educating Rohingya children, Malaysia would not merely be helping refugees. It would be investing in its own security, its own prosperity, and its own moral character. In the end, that is a legacy worthy of any nation.
CP John (cpjohn8@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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