Photo: Wikimedia Commons.
REGULATING the Rohingya refugee community in Malaysia will worsen the nation’s moral and ethical position on human rights concerns.
According to Syed Farid Alatas from the National University of Singapore, Malaysia ought to concentrate more on taking action to aid refugees.
He said, the primary inconsistency, in his opinion, lies in the official Malaysian discourse regarding assistance for refugees—Palestinian or Rohingya—and the actual laws that deny them employment and educational opportunities.
Syed Farid told FMT that when it comes to how they handle refugees, Western nations have a better track record.
Pulai MP Suhaizan Kaiat requested the government establish clear policies and procedures to regulate the Rohingya population during a speech in the Dewan Rakyat earlier this month.
Suhaizan claimed that he made his call in response to grievances regarding crime and the growth of refugee communities.
He alleged that the Rohingya population in Malaysia “threatens the life of the people in this country.”
He also brought up an instance from December 23 of last year in which three Rohingya were shot and killed after it was thought they were involved in 50 crimes in six states.
When asked what the general public thought about Palestinian refugees in Malaysia, Syed Farid responded that although thousands of Rohingya refugees had been accepted, relatively few Palestinians had made Malaysia their home.
He remarked that because the Rohingya are so visible, some people may view them as a threat to society. But that view would not hold true given the tiny number of Palestinians in Malaysia.
A migrant activist, Adrian Pereira, criticized the government for failing to enact legislation that explicitly protects migrants’ rights and treats them in accordance with accepted norms and values.
The executive director of the North-South Initiative stated that the government may behave morally and treat everyone with respect without waiting for a UN convention to be adopted or legislation to be passed.
He further asserted that reports of an uptick in crime constitute the basis for hate campaigns.
According to Adrian, if that is true, present the evidence and the statistics so that they can be discussed.
On March 6, an international human rights watchdog criticised the government for not changing immigration laws to treat communities of migrants and refugees better.
According to Human Rights Watch, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has not kept his word to ratify the 1951 UN refugee convention. This would have given the nation official recognition of refugees and their right to employment.
-BTS Media
