'Why double standards in treatment of Rohingya refugees?'
Published on: Wednesday, March 20, 2024
By:
FMT, Amirul Aiman
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said Malaysia hosts around 181,000 refugees and asylum seekers and they include some 103,000 Rohingyas. (Bernama pic)
Kuala Lumpur: An activist has questioned Malaysia’s treatment of Rohingya refugees, saying it is in stark contrast to its support for the Palestinians.
Lubna Sheikh Ghazali of Asylum Access Malaysia said while Malaysia championed the Palestinian cause, it seemed to have “double standards” when it came to Rohingya refugees in Malaysia.
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“It was not too long ago that Malaysians were on the streets demonstrating for the Rohingya, a long-persecuted people,” Lubna said at a forum organised by Suhakam.
“Seven years later, our voices have fallen silent – despite the fact that their genocide is ongoing.
“We seem to have collective amnesia and are selective about who deserves protection. This needs some self-reflection. We need to ask ourselves, why are we vocal in certain respects and silent on others?
“Could we be inconsistent or have double standards as well? I hope these remarks I’m making will open up space for some reflection.”
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Malaysians have organised numerous rallies to show solidarity with Palestine, which is in an ongoing war with Israel. The Palestinian death toll from Israel’s ongoing attacks in the Gaza Strip since Oct 7 have seen more than 31,000 Palestinians killed – mostly women and children.
In contrast, there have been numerous reports of hate speech and threats against the Rohingya refugees living in Malaysia, especially in the wake of fake news in 2021 that an activist from the community had demanded that they be granted citizenship.
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Nearly one million Rohingya refugees have fled decades-long persecution in Myanmar for neighbouring Bangladesh, most leaving the country after a military crackdown in 2017.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said Malaysia hosts around 181,000 refugees and asylum seekers and they include some 103,000 Rohingyas.
Malaysia is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, which safeguards the rights and protection of those granted asylum by the country sheltering them.
Putrajaya considers refugees and asylum seekers to be undocumented, or “illegal” migrants under the 1959/1963 Immigration Act.
The issue of Rohingya refugees was highlighted in the Dewan Rakyat earlier this month when Pulai MP Suhaizan Kaiat urged the government to create definitive policies and guidelines to regulate the community.
Suhaizan said his call was in response to complaints about crime and the emergence of refugee settlements. He alleged that the Rohingya community’s presence in Malaysia “threatens the lives of the people in this country”.
He also cited an incident on Dec 23 last year where three Rohingya men suspected of involvement in 50 burglaries across six states were shot dead by the police.
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