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Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said those whose refugee status as validated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will be taken on to work in agriculture and manufacturing here before they are relocated abroad. — AFP pic 

By Yiswaree Palansamy
February 2, 2017

PUTRAJAYA — Putrajaya’s pioneer project to provide legal employment for the Rohingya refugees here will start on March 1 with 300 workers, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi announced today.

Ahmad Zahid who is also home minister said those whose refugee status as validated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) will be taken on to work in agriculture and manufacturing here before they are relocated abroad.

“They would be placed in selected companies under the agriculture and manufacturing sectors, aimed at providing them with skills and financial support to enable them to build their lives before being relocated to third world nations,” he said in a statement.

Ahmad Zahid also said that the 300 Rohingyas selected would also have to pass security and health screenings before being employed.

Deputy Home Minister Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed announced last month that the federal government would allow Rohingyas — who are mostly Muslims said to be fleeing persecution in Myanmar — to work legally in Malaysia.

Nur Jazlan also said the programme will not affect Putrajaya’s other policies on migrant workers.

Undocumented refugees, including the Rohingya, have previously claimed they were being exploited as they are not allowed to work legally here.
Organisation of Islamic Countries special envoy to Myanmar Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar speaks during a press conference after distributing aid to the Rohingya community in Taman Selayang, Gombak December 26, 2016. — Pictures by Yusof Mat Isa


By Kamles Kumar
December 26, 2016

KUALA LUMPUR — A special immigration card to identify and confer legal status to the stateless Rohingya community should be established, Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) special envoy to Myanmar Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar suggested today.

Rather than relying on the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) card which identified refugees, the proposed new system would enable the Rohingya to be legally employed, receive medical attention and their children enrolled into legit schools, he added.

“We must have a system of registration. It would be easy for them to get jobs and make them not illegal. A card system like the immigration card can be issued to them,” he told a news conference after handing out welfare aid to the Rohingya community here.

‘The UNHCR cards only show that they are refugees. We want them to have rights before problems in their country is solved under international laws,” he added.

Syed Hamid also said that while Malaysia accepts the Rohingyas escaping their conflict-riddled home state in Myanmar, there is currently no structured framework in place to prevent the people from being exploited.

“We need to structure ourselves properly. We cannot be like now… so that they can get healthcare, go to school and get rights.

“At present in Malaysia, they are all over the place. We don’t want them to be exploited by any groups,” he said.

Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar (right) is pictured distributing aid to the Rohingya community in Taman Selayang, Gombak December 26, 2016.

The former foreign minister also urged Putrajaya come up with a policy for the Rohingya, with urgent attention on education for their children.

At the same time, Syed Hamid also deflected criticism on Malaysia’s delay in signing 1951 UN Refugee Convention.

“We are an open country. We are a maritime state. If we open our shores, a lot of refugees will come in. That is why we are careful,” he said.

Malaysia recently became vocal against the persecution of the Rohingya who are predominantly Muslims from the Rakhine state of Myanmar.

The federal government has expressed concern over the Myanmar government’s treatment of the Rohingya, highlighting that over 50,000 has fled here and pose a significant security and safety issue to Malaysia.
Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar said that his appointment by the OIC as a special delegate to Myanmar showed that the organisation was concerned about the Myanmar administration’s alleged Islamophobia. — Picture by Choo Choy May

By The Malay Mail Online
April 20, 2016

KUALA LUMPUR — Organisation of Islamic Countries (OIC) special envoy to Myanmar Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar called for the national reconciliation and reintegration of the persecuted Rohingya minority in Myanmar.

In a commentary on US paper Los Angeles Times yesterday, Syed Hamid, who formerly served as foreign and defence minister, said that his appointment by the OIC as a special delegate to Myanmar showed that the organisation — the second largest inter-governmental cluster after the United Nations (UN) — was concerned about the Myanmar administration’s alleged Islamophobia.

“It is a sign of how seriously we take the systemic Islamophobia of Myanmar’s government, and the inexplicable silence of Aung San Suu Kyi — otherwise a champion of the dispossessed and distressed — over this treatment.

“Indeed, national reconciliation and reintegration of the Rohingya is the only feasible, practicable way of addressing the humanitarian crisis created by years of discriminatory policy and exclusion,” he said.

Syed Hamid, who is also chairman of the Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD), said that Myanmar must first address the Rohingya issue before re-entering the international community to realise its full potential as a country.

Syed Hamid pointed out that while predominantly Buddhist Myanmar is now entering a new era of democracy under the leadership of Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, the issue of how the Burmese government treated Muslim citizens remains unaddressed.

“Some of the praise she and her country receive is deserved. But much of it overlooks the unacceptable treatment of her Muslim citizens, who have suffered an ongoing and accelerating process of ‘otherisation’ and dehumanisation that is deeply frightening to watch.

“We hope the lessons of the past years, and the potential of years ahead, encourages the government of Myanmar to move in the right direction,” he added.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a statement on May 8 last year that some 25,000 Rohingya and Bangladeshis boarded smugglers’ boats between January and March in 2015, almost double the number over the same period the previous year.

Over 1,000 Bangladeshi migrants and Rohingya refugees landed in Langkawi on May 10 last year, in what was deemed as the biggest humanitarian crisis in both Myanmar and Bangladesh.

Datuk Seri Najib Razak speaks during a ceremony to distribute cloth and other essentials to the needy during the Ramadan month, at the National Mosque, Kuala Lumpur, June 21, 2015. — Picture by Choo

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid
July 2, 2015

SERDANG — As the fasting month of Ramadan kicks in, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak told Malaysian Muslims today that their prayers will not guarantee them a spot in paradise after death if they commit slander and cause disunity among their community.

In a reminder of Islam’s key teachings, Najib cited a hadith that promised heaven to those who can respect each other.

“Even if you never miss your prayers, but you are an instigator, slanderous, inciteful and cause disunity, you will not be guaranteed heaven,” Najib said in his speech after handing Aidilfitri donations at a charity event here.

“And carrying a big badge on your chest will also not guarantee you paradise,” he added smilingly, a statement seemingly made against his political foes.

Najib’s leadership has been dogged by several major controversies like the RM42 billion 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal, which has become a central point to a concerted campaign by the opposition and those from within his own party to push for his resignation.

The prime minister’s family members have also been targeted in the corruption allegations.

Najib has vehemently denied the claims, calling the attacks slanderous.

Pointing to the ethnic Rohingya refugees fleeing persecution from their homeland Myanmar, the Pekan MP said today that these immigrants appeared to be more appreciative of Malaysia than some Malaysians themselves.

“The Rohingyas risk their lives to come here and when they arrive here they bow to kiss this land, to show how appreciative they are.

“But we locals go and tarnish the country’s reputation. Instead we are the ones unaware (of we have). We are not grateful that we live in a peaceful and prosperous country,” he said.

A February poll released by Merdeka Centre saw Najib’s popularity rating dropped to 44 per cent in 2014, and analysts believe the prime minister would fare worse now after the 1MDB scandal blew up earlier this year.

The backlash worsened after his government introduced the unpopular Goods and Services Tax in April, causing inflation to skyrocket while Malaysians were already paying high prices for goods due to the depreciating ringgit.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi said once Yassin is brought to Malaysia, authorities here will move to prosecute him.

By Mayuri Mei Lin
June 21, 2015

KUALA LUMPUR — Local authorities have already started the process of extraditing “Yassin”, the man believed to be responsible for the abandoned Rohingya death camps discovered recently in Wang Kelian, Perlis.

Home Minister Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi said once “Yassin” is brought to Malaysia, authorities here will move to prosecute the man, who is currently in the custody of Thai officials.

“(The extradition) process has already started.

“We are working on getting an extradition and we will then prosecute when the individual named Yassin is brought over,” Ahmad Zahid said during a buka puasa event with a local orphanage.

Singapore news broadcaster Channel News Asia reported on Monday that Thai police had arrested several individuals believed to be the brains behind the human trafficking syndicate, at least one of whom will be handed over to Malaysian authorities.

“We are thankful to Thailand for not just giving cooperation but also for arresting a few of our suspects, including Yassin,” Zahid was quoted as saying.

Local news portal the Malaysian Insider also reported on Monday that another camp was found on Malaysian soil, some 100m from the Thai border at Hutan Simpan Mata Aye in Perlis, which Zahid claimed were merely temporary camps.

Malay daily Utusan reported, however, that those camps, which could accommodate 300 people, were more proper for having access to clean water and electricity, as well as facilities such as a surau, kitchen and clinic.

Malaysia is one of the main destinations for ethnic Rohingya fleeing oppression and violence in Myanmar, with more fleeing their state-sanctioned persecution in search of a better land.

Over 1,000 Bangladeshi migrants and Rohingya refugees landed in Langkawi on May 10 and were subsequently sent to the Belantik detention centre in Kedah.

After two weeks of turning away boats filled with thousands of refugees, Malaysia and Indonesia finally relented on May 20, agreeing to take in some 7,000 refugees on condition that they be repatriated within a year.

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad addressing the International Conference on 'Plight of the Rohingya' at Islamic Arts Museum in Kuala Lumpur, June 12, 2015. — Picture by Yusof Mat Isa

By Yiswaree Palansamy 
June 12, 2015

KUALA LUMPUR — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad urged Malaysia today to intervene in the state-sanctioned discrimination against the Rohingya in Myanmar that the former prime minister dubbed as “genocide”.

In his keynote address at an international conference titled, “Plight of the Rohingya Part II — Crime Against Humanity”, the former prime minister also urged other Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) countries to discard their non-interference policy on the matter, after thousands of Rohingya and Bangladeshi migrants were recently stranded at sea.

“It’s not a boat problem. This idea of not interfering should have a limitation,” Dr Mahathir said in his speech to a packed audience.

“It may be internal, no country should have the right to treat their people this way. It is genocide. We must interfere beyond a certain limit. We demand Asean discard non-interference.

“Change our minds about sanctity of independence. Malaysia should take this up with Asean. We cannot have a country that commits genocide in Asean. We have to interfere,” he added.

Dr Mahathir also urged the Asean community to raise Myanmar’s persecution of the Rohingyas to the United Nations (UN) and called for the country to be ostracised.

“We can bring this up in UN...not that they are capable of doing anything.

“This country needs to be ostracised,” he said, referring to Myanmar.

Over 1,000 Bangladeshi migrants and Rohingya refugees landed in Langkawi on May 10 and were subsequently sent to the Belantik detention centre in Kedah.

Migrant activists estimated then that apart from the first 1,000, some 8,000 Bangladeshi and Rohingya continued to remain stranded at sea after people smugglers abandoned ship following a Thai crackdown on human trafficking.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said in a statement on May 8 that some 25,000 Rohingya and Bangladeshis boarded smugglers’ boats between January and March this year, almost double the number over the same period last year.

On May 17, international newswire AFP reported diplomats and analysts as saying that Asean’s pledge of non-interference and its failure to curb Myanmar’s systematic abuse of the Rohingya — who suffer state-sanctioned discrimination and are denied citizenship despite having lived in Myanmar for generations — have contributed to the migrant crisis in the region.

Malaysia is host to more than 150,000 migrants who come from as far as Somalia and Iran besides ethnic groups from Myanmar. — Picture by Choo Choy May

By Jonathan Edward
June 7, 2015

PETALING JAYA — The plight of Rohingya migrants is well known but Malaysia hosts more than 150,000 migrants who come from as far as Somalia and Iran besides ethnic groups from Myanmar.

There are also Sri Lankans, Pakistanis, Somalis, Syrians, Iraqis, Iranians and Palestinians here.

Malay Mail had an opportunity to meet some of the migrants at the Art for Grabs event at Jaya One held in conjunction with World Refugee Day.

Ben Ting, 32, an ethnic Rvwang from Kachin state, arrived here with a group four years ago after leaving his family in Myanmar.

“My life was in danger. The ethnic Bamar peole who form the majority kept coming to my village and taking away young men for forced labour and none ever came back,” he said.

“I took the land route through Thailand and spent many nights walking through the jungle until I reached Malaysia.”

Ben hand-makes traditional clothing and accessories which are sold through a church that supports him and others from his community.

Sa Nine, a 17-year-old ethnic Karen from Mon state, was forced from her family’s farm at gunpoint by Bamar militiamen.

“My father said it wasn’t safe for us to stay. So we came to Malaysia through Thailand with the help of an agent who we paid to guide us across the border,” she said.

Asked if she would return to Myanmar, she said: “Some states have been declared safe but they really are not. So, we will continue to appeal for resettlement elsewhere.

“Malaysia is a nice country but it is not my home. I’m just a guest here.”

Komeil, 32, from the northern Iranian province of Guilan, fled his homeland because of religious persecution.

“I had been jailed off and on for several years. After the last time I knew I had to leave or I would not live see tomorrow, so I just got on a plane and left,” he said.

He has been in Malaysia for the past four years and expects to be resettled in America as he has relatives there.

“You don’t get to pick which country they (UNHCR) will send you to but having relatives increases your chances. I used to be an engineer but now I paint for a living,” he said, pointing to his canvass with a half-finished painting of a broken vase.

Asked if he would consider going back if things changed there, he said it would take time for change to come.

“If there could be change I would have stayed back and helped that change happen. Nothing is going to change there,” he said.

Meida Noor Bakr, a former mathematics teacher from Gorgan in northern Iran, has been in Malaysia for nearly four years with her husband and two children.

Her husband was a journalist who was arrested in a government crackdown and jailed for two years.

“They beat him every day and told him they would jail me and my children. They made him understand that we would all be punished for what he had done,” she said.

“Staying in Malaysia is hard as we cannot work legally and my husband can only do odd-jobs. In Iran, this was my hobby. Now it’s my only income,” she added, holding one of her paintings.

Mahshar, 40, a former schoolteacher from Kurdistan, fled her homeland because of ethnic tensions.

“They made us understand we would be killed if we didn’t leave,” she said, declining to elaborate.

“I never want to return. I still have nightmares of what I have seen,” she added, when asked if she would return to her hometown some day.

Kurdistan is split between Iran, Turkey, Iraq and Syria. It is not recognised as a country, with the Kurds among the most persecuted minorities in the world.

As of May, there are 152,830 registered migrants registered with UNHCR in Malaysia comprising 49,600 Chins, 45,910 Rohingya, 12,320 Myanmar Muslims, and 7,280 Rakhines and Arakanese from Myanmar.

There are also 3,890 Sri Lankans, 1,210 Pakistanis, 1,090 Somalis, 950 Syrians, 830 Iraqis, 540 Iranians and 430 Palestinians here.



By Emmanuel Santa Maria Chin
May 27, 2015

KUALA LUMPUR — Aluminium cans as bowling pins, children playing in the rain, women peeling vegetables on the sidewalk, and little table-top businesses selling snacks and drinks. 

These are some of the daily scenes of the local Rohingya community that have sought refuge in the area surrounding the Selayang Wholesale Market. 

After a long day, they return to a shoplot unit consisting of six to seven rooms separated by thin plywood. Each room houses a family of at least four members and they all share two communal bathrooms. 

The children are not allowed to attend regular school as they lack proper documentation, and when they are old enough, they resort to doing odd-jobs to assist with the costs of their families. 

“This is all we can ever afford. So we have learned to share and live together,” said Nur Sahara Nur Mia, a 65-year-old Rohingya refugee. 

Nur Sahara and herdaughter, Golbahor Abu Tahir, 38, came to Malaysia to escape the persecution in Myanmar in 1988. 

They live together with Golbahor’s daughter, Hirana Yasin, 19, in a makeshift room together with six other children. 

“Living in Malaysia has been such a blessing as we no longer face hostility and our families do not have to live in fear anymore,” Nur Sahara said.

“So now I just look after my grand and great-grand children and try to get them to attend classes to learn to read and write.”

Hirana, who has learned to read and write with help from her friends in religious classes, said she hoped to finish school someday. In the meantime, she prepares and cooks sambal for a local business to make ends meet.

About 500 other migrants also live and work in the surrounding area, earning an average wage of RM30 a day.

Asked for their reaction towards the recently discovered mass graves of possible Myanmar migrants, they were all sympathetic but were not surprised by the discovery. 

“We are all willing to help, but there is only so much we can do. We will pray for their safety and wellbeing,” Galbahor said.

A Rohingya migrant, who arrived in Indonesia by boat, uses his handphone during sunset at a temporary compound for refugees in Kuala Cangkoi village in Lhoksukon, Indonesia's Aceh Province May 17, 2015. — Reuters pic



By Yap Tzu Ging
May 19, 2015

 KUALA LUMPUR — Putrajaya cannot arbitrarily allow foreigners into the country as it is bound by restrictions in local immigration laws, a minister explained today amid criticisms over Malaysia’s refusal to rescue the thousands of Rohingya refugees stranded at sea.

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, who was urged to explain the issue during Question Time in Parliament this morning, pointed out that foreigners without valid travel documents cannot be permitted entry into Malaysia.

“We insist that we will not accept those without proper documentations and passports into the country,” the minister said when asked why Putrajaya has been turning back boatfuls of refugees when the country has often been used as a transit point for refugees escaping persecution in their countries.

Shahidan said all Putrajaya can do at this juncture is to offer the refugees aid in the form of “food and oil”.

“But we cannot simply accept someone in, we have to follow the laws,” he added.

Over 1,000 Bangladeshi migrants and Rohingya refugees landed in Langkawi on May 10 and were subsequently sent to the Belantik detention centre in Kedah.

Migrant activists estimate that some 8,000 Bangladeshi and Rohingya remain stranded at sea after people smugglers abandoned ship following a Thai crackdown on human trafficking.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said in a statement on May 8 that some 25,000 Rohingya and Bangladeshis boarded smugglers’ boats between January and March this year, almost double the number over the same period last year.

International newswire AFP reported yesterday diplomats and analysts as saying that Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ pledge of non-interference and its failure to curb Myanmar’s systematic abuse of the Rohingya — who suffer state-sanctioned discrimination and are denied citizenship despite having lived in Myanmar for generations - have contributed to the migrant crisis in the region.

Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia have been turning away boats of migrants back out to sea as the International Organisation of Migration reportedly criticised Asean nations for playing “maritime ping-pong” with people’s lives.

A Rohingya child, who recently arrived in Indonesia by boat, is measured and weighed at a shelter in Kuala Langsa, in Indonesia's Aceh Province, May 17, 2015. — Reuters pic

May 18, 2015

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia may not recognise refugees, but as a member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), it is required by international law to rescue the thousands of Rohingya refugees currently stranded at sea, a DAP lawmaker said.

According to Klang MP Charles Santiago, Malaysia’s role in the UNSC compels it to uphold the Responsibility to Protect (RtoP) through Resolution 1674 (Para 139), which means the country must accept all Rohingya refugees, regardless whether they are facing death at sea.

“This is mandatory under the international law of non-refoulement,” Santiago said in a statement here.

“Asean (the Association of Southeast Asian Nations) can no longer hang on to the belief of non-interference, not when there is a clear and present danger to humanity.

“This law dictates that no country should return refugees to places where they are persecuted or subjected to danger,” he added.

Santiago claimed the Malaysian government has “craftily” avoided adhering to international maritime law that says the country is legally reguired to rescue people in distress at sea, by translating “distress” to mean “sinking boats and drowning people”.

But the lawmaker pointed out to the federal government that many reports have claimed that the refugees are in dire straits, with some reports claiming that at least 10 have died, while some are forced to drink their urine.

“It cannot get any worse than this, with the exception of dead bodies reaching our shores,” he said.

Santiago said it is clear that the boat people are victims of human trafficking, and were abandoned at sea by the traffickers, following the massive crackdown on the activity in Thailand.

“It’s sad that we need to leverage upon existing legislation to compel a government to act with a conscience.

“But just as the Rohingya Muslims are left with no choice but to flee, we are left with no choice but to get Malaysia to act by the book now, to save the lives of thousands of Rohingya refugees,” he said.

Over 1,000 Bangladeshi migrants and Rohingya refugees landed in Langkawi on May 10 and were subsequently sent to the Belantik detention centre in Kedah.

Migrant activists estimate that some 8,000 Bangladeshi and Rohingya remain stranded at sea after people smugglers abandoned ship following a Thai crackdown on human trafficking.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees said in a statement on May 8 that some 25,000 Rohingya and Bangladeshis boarded smugglers’ boats between January and March this year, almost double the number over the same period last year.

International newswire AFP reported yesterday diplomats and analysts as saying that Asean’s pledge of non-interference and its failure to curb Myanmar’s systematic abuse of the Rohingya — who suffer state-sanctioned discrimination and are denied citizenship despite having lived in Myanmar for generations — have contributed to the migrant crisis in the region.

Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia have been turning away boats of migrants back out to sea as the International Organisation of Migration reportedly criticised the Southeast Asian nations for playing “maritime ping-pong” with people’s lives.

Merhrom president Zafar Ahmad Abdul Ghani said that as Asean chairman, Malaysia must help save the Rohingya who have been persecuted for generations and left to die in makeshift shelters in their own country. — Reuters pic

By Yiswaree Palansamy
May 17, 2015

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia is no different from Myanmar for refusing to accept refugees seeking protection from persecution, a local Rohingya representative here has said.

In an emotional phone interview, Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organisation Malaysia (Merhrom) president Zafar Ahmad Abdul Ghani said that as Asean chairman, Malaysia must help save the Rohingya who have been persecuted for generations and left to die in makeshift shelters in their own country.

“What difference is there between the Malaysian government and the Myanmar administration? Both are rejecting us... no difference,” Zafar told Malay Mail Online when contacted yesterday.

“By deporting us back to the killing fields in our country, how are you being humane or different? Please help us. Pushing us back is the worst crime ever... we have no future there... at least help us solve the crisis in Myanmar... help us before we become dust and our mere existence is annihilated,” Zafar told Malay Mail Online when contacted.

He also questioned why Malaysians welcomed refugees from Bosnia and Palestine here, but not the Rohingya who are predominantly Muslims and suffer state-sanctioned discrimination in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.

“Why is it difficult why difficult to help us Rohingya? Why is your government denying protection and pushing them back to the killing fields?

“In the holy Quran, Muslims are thought to help those of all ethnicity and faith... not just Muslims, so please consider us too as humans and give us protection,” Zafar said.

In the 1990s when Bosnia was at war, Malaysia offered refuge to Bosnian Muslims and also held ‘Save Bosnia’ rallies in several states.

Reuters reported that Malaysia also contributed 1,500 soldiers to the United Nations (UN) peacekeeping force in Bosnia and even paid Bosnian Muslim men, women and children monthly allowances of between US$70 and US$105 (RM249 and RM374) while in Malaysia.

Housing, medical care and schooling for the children and young adults at the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM) were also provided for free, while refugee centres were opened up in Serdang, Bangi and Kuching.

“Malaysia as the Asean chair, should help us in this matter. We have the same rights as others. We want to be recognised as a legitimate ethnic (community),” Zafar added.

He also censured his government for being inhumane, and demanded that the Myanmar government be kicked out of the Asean pact should it refuse to attend a meeting to discuss the Rohingya humanitarian crisis scheduled to be held in Thailand.

On Friday, newswire AFP reported that Myanmar may snub a regional meeting hosted by Thailand later this month aimed at easing the current Bay of Bengal migrant crisis, quoting an official from the president’s office.

More than a thousand migrants have arrived on Thai, Malaysian and Indonesian soil since May 1, when the discovery of mass graves containing corpses believed to be of Bangladeshi and Myanmar migrants in southern Thailand prompted a crackdown on human trafficking.

People smugglers have since then abandoned their human cargo, leaving thousands of Bangladeshi and Rohingya refugees stranded in the Andaman Sea.

Myanmar had also accused Thailand of using the regional summit to divert attention from its own issues with people smuggling.

Zafar has been residing in Malaysia for 23 years and is a UN political asylum seeker card holder. He is married to a Malaysian and has three children, but laments that life has still not been kind to him.

“I applied for a permanent residency, but it was rejected by the Malaysian government because of my status. They asked me to produce my travel documents first. How will I produce something that I never had? Myanmar government never recognised my people as citizens so how can I have travel documents?” the odd-job worker and activist asked.

He said that Putrajaya has yet to respond on the IM13 card introduced in 2006 for Rohingya immigrants, which would allow them to work and earn a living.

“Thousands of us applied and were charged a RM90 levy too but the card is still not issued till today,” Zafar claimed.

“Where is the card? What happened to our money? RM90 is a lot of money for us destitutes,” he asked. 

Mahi Ramakrishnan has made a documentary telling the tale of the Rohingyas, starting with their escape from ethnic cleansing in their country to the false refuge they found in countries such as Malaysia. ― Picture by Saw Siow Feng

By Yap Tzu Ging
April 24, 2015

KUALA LUMPUR ― Mahi Ramakrishnan’s connection to the Rohingyas was not just of documentary maker and subject, but one of blood: her grandmother is also a Rohingya.

A journey that was started to discover her grandmother’s roots eventually blossomed into a curiosity to learn about the oppressed Muslim minority in Myanmar (previously Burma).

“It is a love story. My grandmother was a Rohingya. My grandfather was with the British Indian army and met her in Burma, fell in love and eloped with her to Malaysia. My mother was born in Malaysia, a first-generation.

“The thing is, my mother does not know where her mother comes from, which village she was from, except for few photos. It is like the Rohingya community in Malaysia, who were raped, killed and murdered; anyone of them could be my relative,” Mahi said.

This same curiosity led to a nine-year effort to help the refugees from the Muslim minority community here, which then evolved into “Seeds of hatred”, a 30-minute documentary about their plight.

The documentary, which took almost two years to finish, tells the tale of the Rohingyas, starting with their escape from ethnic cleansing in their country to the false refuge they found in countries such as Malaysia.

It also recounts the 2012 Rakhine riots that were sparked by the gangrape of a Rakhine woman by Rohingya men triggered sectarian killings that forced a new wave of the Muslim community to flee to neighbouring countries such as Thailand and Malaysia.

The Buddhist-Muslim enmity is also believed to have been brought over to Malaysia, with dozens of murders involving Myanmars here prompting concern that the violence may spread locally.

Malaysia is home to a reported 40,000 Rohingyas, many of whom are barred from seeking employment due to their status as asylum seekers and refugees. This, in turn, makes them vulnerable to exploitation both by the authorities and those willing to employ them illegally.

Although making the documentary was another step in raising awareness on these issues, Mahi said she also wanted it to show other Myanmars the plight of their country’s minority.

“Initially, I only wanted to make a film on Rohingya. But after my trip on 2013 (for research), I was shocked at how divided they are and how a group of marginalised people could not sympathise or empathise with another group of marginalised people,” she said.

As for those seeking asylum in Malaysia, she said she hoped that the government would take faster initiatives to help the Rohingya refugees.

She said one of the few steps was for the government to ratify the United Nations’ (UN) Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (CRSR), which would help define who qualifies as a refugee as well as the rights and protections they would be accorded.

Mahi acknowledged it would take some time for the government to do that but “that does not mean we should not start working towards it”.

“At least the government should take the steps to register the refugees which they promised three years ago, and this would allow them to find work and feed their children,” she said.

In the meantime, she can only hold on to hope that things will get better for the community both in their home country and Malaysia, as she would like the Rohingya to be able to go home with “pride and dignity”.

The face of an old Rohingya man. – Pictures courtesy of Greg Constantine

By Kenny Mah
April 17, 2015

KUALA LUMPUR — This Saturday, Malaysians will be able to put a face to the persecuted Rohingya people of Myanmar courtesy of an exhibition by American documentary photographer Greg Constantine.

Open to the public from tomorrow to May 1, 2015 at Prototype Gallery L4 at Wisma Central on Jalan Ampang, the exhibition is called Exiled to Nowhere: Burma’s Rohingya.

Held in collaboration with the National Endowment for Democracy, Blue Earth Alliance, Tenaganita and Prototype Gallery, Exiled to Nowhere is the latest in a series of international exhibitions held in London, Canberra, Brussels, Jakarta, Bangkok, Tokyo, and most recently in Geneva.

Constantine, who has been recording the struggles of the Rohingya for the past nine years, hopes to highlight the persecution and human rights violations against this stateless community in Myanmar.

A book of the same title chronicling his project was published to critical acclaim in 2012. We chat with Constantine about his experiences and his passion for documenting the stories of the stateless.

What drew you to the Rohingya situation? 

It’s all about the issue of statelessness. My work on the Rohingya has been specifically in southern Bangladesh and inside Rakhine in Burma. I think for anyone who wants to know more about the issue of statelessness in Asia, you have to be exposed to the story of the Rohingya.

In my own experience, the Rohingya case is by far the most extreme situation of statelessness in the world today. And in so many ways, it is the most severe situation of human rights abuse I have experienced as well. For me to do the work that I needed to do for this project, Exiled to Nowhere: Burma’s Rohingya, I had to spend time in Bangladesh and when the violence erupted against the Rohingya in Burma in 2012, I had to go there to document it.

A stateless Rohingya family living in squalor

It is a story that changes for the worse every year and I wanted to create a long, sustained documentation of this story for people to see. I started photographing the Rohingya in southern Bangladesh in early 2006 and made 8 trips to Bangladesh from 2006-2012. Since the violence in Burma in 2012, I’ve travelled to Burma four times, most recently in November 2014.

You’ve been based in South-east Asia for the past 10 years. Has it been predominantly Burma and Bangladesh? 

Actually I’ve spent a lot of time in countries throughout the region working on stories for my Nowhere People project. In 2006/2007, I spent time in Sabah, Malaysia working on a story about stateless children there. I’ve created photo essays on stateless people in Burma, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nepal and Sri Lanka.

The project has slowly spread beyond South-east Asia. Since 2008, I’ve created photo essays on stateless people in Kenya, Ivory Coast, Kuwait, Iraq, Lebanon, Ukraine, Serbia, Italy, Holland and the Dominican Republic. So, it truly is a comprehensive exploration of an issue that is global. 

How did you get started in documentary photography?

I made a big shift in careers when I was about 31 years old. For much of my 20s I worked for different companies related to the music industry in the US. I studied business in university; I’m a self-taught photographer.

When I was in my late 20s, I quit my job, cashed in my retirement savings and travelled in Asia for seven months. That trip in 1998 was followed by a second trip in 2000 that was eight months long and it was during these two trips that I fell in love with photography as a means to tell stories. 

It took several years, but slowly I transitioned into a full-time photographer working on long-term personal projects that focus on human rights and other social issues and injustices. In 2005, I moved from the US to South-east Asia and began my long-term project Nowhere People, which documents people and communities around the world who have been denied or stripped of the fundamental right to citizenship and as a result are stateless.

I’ve now spent nine years working almost exclusively on Nowhere People (www.nowherepeople.org) of which my work on the Rohingya is by far the biggest chapter.

What was your most challenging experience in chronicling the Rohingya situation?

I think the biggest struggle has been trying to find outlets actually interested in publishing the work. It’s become increasingly more difficult to find traditional magazines or newspapers that are willing to publish these stories. So in many ways, I’ve not put much faith in the traditional print media to get my work out there. 

How do you engage people? I’ve had to adapt and that is the reason why I’ve chosen exhibitions as the primary way to get the work out there and it has been incredibly rewarding to see how various audiences are engaged with this story. The situation for the Rohingya in Burma and Bangladesh gets worse every year. And seeing how nothing has changed over the years is another of the more frustrating aspects of documenting the Rohingya. 

After every trip to Bangladesh and especially after every trip to Burma since 2012, I always walk away saying, “How can this still be happening?” But it is still happening and people need to know it is happening. I’ve seen a lot of suffering with the Rohingya community all these years. 

Piling into a truck…with nowhere to go

Burma really is a beautiful country, but unfortunately, one experience that will stay in my memory for many years to come, will be the streets of downtown Sittwe, lined with ordinary citizens of the Rakhine community, clapping their hands and cheering as over 2,000 people (including hundreds of monks, students, men and women) marched through the streets of Sittwe shouting racist, anti-Rohingya chants. It was a very public display of hatred, bigotry and racism that is very different from the picture most people have in their head of Burma.

Exiled to Nowhere: Burma’s Rohingya

Prototype Gallery L4, Level 4, Wisma Central, Jalan Ampang, Kuala Lumpur 

April 18 — May 1, 2015


Opening Hours: Mon-Sat 10am - 8pm, Sun 10am – 5pm

Public Launch: Saturday, April 18th @ 3pm – 6pm

Photographer’s Talk: Sunday, April 19th @ 2pm – 4pm

For information, please contact Greg Constantine (grconstantine@gmail.com) or Syed Iskandar (skandar.uw@gmail.com).

People walk at a market in Maungdaw on Nov 11. The market is where the Rohingya Muslim and Rakhine Buddhist communities meet. — (Photo: Reuters) 


By Benedict Ng
December 14, 2014

PETALING JAYA — The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) insists that asylum-seekers in Malaysia are screened thoroughly before they are granted the status. 

The UNHCR Kuala Lumpur spokesman Yante Ismail said a detailed interview and investigation would be carried out on the applicant to determine a person’s eligibility for refugee status. 

“The asylum (application) process assesses whether a person is in need of protection and also when required, whether their conduct would exclude them from protection,” she said. 

“Because of the thoroughness that is required, and for high profile and complicated cases, a longer time is needed to process an individual.”

Concern over who were getting the refugee status was raised after it was reported last week that 15 out of 17 Myanmar men detained to assist police investigations into the brutal murders in Penang are UNHCR cardholders who have been resident in Malaysia for up to 14 years. 

Yante said refugee protection was not extended to individuals who have committed serious crimes or acts contrary to the purposes of the United Nations. 

“Given the seriousness of these issues, a close and full examination of all facts would need to be undertaken.” 

She said because investigations were on-going, the commission was unable to comment on the arrests of the Myanmar detainees, including those who have UNCHR cards. 

“If there are allegations of crimes committed in Malaysia by refugees, UNHCR expects that they be given full due process under the law like any individual,” she said. 

“All refugees and asylum-seekers must respect the national laws of the countries in which they seek asylum in.”

Yante said UNHCR has contacted the Malaysian authorities to offer its assistance. 

From March until November, the country has seen an influx of about 6,000 refugees from Myanmar.

As of November,139,200 Myanmar refugees were registered with UNHCR, with 150,460 asylum-seekers from other countries in Malaysia. 

The Myanmar refugees comprise of 50,620 Chins, 40,070 Rohingyas, 12,160 Myanmar Muslims, 7,440 Rakhines and Arakaneses, and other ethnicities.

The other 11,260 refugees from other countries include 4,200 Sri Lankans, 1,200 Pakistanis, 1,120 Somalis, 970 Syrians, 860 Iraqis, 580 Iranians, 450 Palestinians, 390 Afghans, 360 Yemenis and 140 Sudanese.

In March, the total number of Myanmar refugees was 133,070 and the overall total of refugees in Malaysia from other countries was 143,435. 

The UNHCR believed there were about 35,000 unregistered asylum-seekers in the country and UNHCR is progressively working to register them.

Malaysia currently hosts one of the largest urban refugee populations in the world, with some 146,020 refugees and asylum seekers registered with the UNHCR as of June 30. (Photo: Reuters)

By Yiswaree Palansamy
October 17, 2014

KUALA LUPUR ― Putrajaya’s unwillingness to commit to key global rights treaties is exacerbating the vulnerability of refugees and asylum seekers here, a London-based human rights foundation said today.

In its report launched today on stateless Rohingyas in Malaysia and Thailand, Equal Rights Trust pointed out that Malaysia has only ratified three core international human rights treaties, despite being an active member of regional human rights bodies.

The report states that while Malaysia has ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD), it had rejected recommendations to remove its reservations to three other Conventions in March.

These include the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the Convention Against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD).

“As a member state of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), Malaysia is a signatory state to the 2012 ASEAN Human Rights Declaration, a non-binding document which nonetheless is a reflection of the human rights consensus in the region.

“Malaysia is also an active member of regional human rights bodies such as the ASEAN Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) and ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC). In 2015, Malaysia will assume the chair of ASEAN,” the report states, stressing that under these coinages, Malaysia therefore possesses a legal duty to protect the rights of refugees and stateless persons on its shores.

Equal Rights Trust said that report was compiled after over three years of in-depth research, analysis and field work by a multi-disciplinary international team, including interviews with key government officials to offer a renewed insight as to how the Rohingya issue is viewed and responded to by each state.

The report is a joint effort with the Institute of Human Rights and Peace Studies of Mahidol University (IHRP) in Thailand.

A similar report was also compiled on Thailand.

The report stated that Putrajaya, in the absence of a local refuges law framework, also often resorts to using the Immigration Act 1959 and 1963 to emphasise a system of border control and deterrence.

“Under the Immigration Act, all refugees, asylum seekers and stateless persons are classified as “illegal immigrants” and are therefore liable to arrest, prosecution, detention and financial penalties, and may also be subject to whipping and refoulement.”

The report stated that the punishments can also apply to all irregular migrants, regardless of whether they are children, pregnant women, the sick, or the elderly.

It also alleged that Putrajaya ignored the presence of refugees and asylum seekers in the country, and that the administration imposed a condition that it will be the onus of the international community, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) particularly to undertake responsibility in caring for the group.

“Refugees and asylum seekers, including the Rohingya, are also vulnerable to extortion by the police and immigration officers,” the report further read.

It said that reports of complicity by Malaysian immigration officers also continue, especially in facilitating trafficking.

“As a result of continued non-compliance with minimum standards in elimination of trafficking, Malaysia has again been downgraded to Tier 3 by the US State Department in its 2014 Trafficking in Persons Report.”

In June, the US State Department had downgraded Malaysia along with Thailand, Venezuela and The Gambia to Tier 3 - the lowest possible ranking - in its yearly Trafficking of Persons Report (TIP).

According to the State Department, countries on the lowest tier may be subject to certain sanctions, including the withholding or withdrawal of non-humanitarian, non-trade-related foreign assistance.

However, in a statement posted on the Foreign Ministry’s website on June 22, the federal government argued that the US State Department had relied on “unverified information, provided by dubious organisations” in evaluating Malaysia for the damning report.

“Malaysia believes that information that was used in the preparation of the Report was flawed, inaccurate and did not reflect measures and steps taken by the respective Malaysian authorities to counter the scourge of trafficking in persons in Malaysia, as a whole.

“We also believe that the source of the information used by the authorities in the United States of America were not credible,” read the statement.

The federal government stressed that Malaysia has a “long and distinguished record” of being a temporary home to migrants, including an estimated 35,000 Muslim minority Rohingyas who have fled sectarian violence in Burma.

Equal Rights Trust said that presently, Malaysia hosts one of the largest urban refugee populations in the world, with some 146,020 refugees and asylum seekers registered with the UNHCR as of June 30.

The majority (over 135,025) are from Myanmar, of which the two largest groups are ethnic Chins (51,450) and the Rohingya (37,850).

Rohingya Muslims gather together at a traditional wrestling festival at Kyaukpannu village in Maungdaw, Myanmar, June 6, 2014. (Photo: Reuters)

By Alexander Winifred
June 23, 2014

CHERAS, Malaysia — Six years ago, Rohingya refugee Hussain Ahmad swam across the Naf River in Myanmar into Bangladesh, crossed over to Thailand by boat and entered Malaysia illegally on foot, walking for days at a time.

“I had nothing to eat or drink,” recalled Hussain, 43.

“I had no money, except for the RM2,500 I paid my agent in Thailand to secure my passage into Malaysia.”

A paddy farmer back home, Hussain said his land and other belongings were taken from him when the Myanmar authorities began persecuting the Muslim minority in 2001.

“The army forced me and my family out of our house, and we were forced to march empty-handed to another province to live,” he said.

Amid the long journey, Hussain lost two young daughters, both barely one-year-old, due to illness.

“All of us fell sick and we were sent to a hospital. The doctors gave them injections but they died in less than a minute,” he said.

After they were relocated, Hussain and other refugees were unable to find work. Realising his wife and remaining three children would suffer from the harsh financial condition they found themselves in, Hussain sought help from friends and family to make the trip to Malaysia and find work to support his family through monthly remittances.

Although it has been six years since he last saw his family, Hussain says he cannot return to Myanmar as he would face a jail term of up to 20 years for illegally leaving the country.

“I think about my wife and children every minute. I worry for their safety and livelihood as I won’t be there to care for them if any thing happens,” he said.

He now stays in Cheras and lays tiles for a living.

Hussain, who is able to speak basic Malay, said he was happy Malaysia had accepted him and provided him with a job.

“It is very peaceful here.”

He was met during an event to commemorate World Refugee Day at the Taman Cheras Utama Mosque yesterday. About one hundred Rohingya refugees were also present.

Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organisation Malaysia president Zafar Ahmad Abdul Ghani called on the United Nations (UN) to increase pressure on the Myanmar government to stop persecuting the Rohingya.

He said thousands of Rohingya had died in Myanmar and in transit countries, such as Thailand and Bangladesh.

“UN and powerful bodies such as the Organisation of Islamic Conference should use their political leverage to deal with the Myanmar government and stop the genocide that is happening,” he said.



September 20, 2013

KUALA LUMPUR — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad raised the plight of the Rohingyas in Myanmar as a cautionary tale for Muslims in Malaysia yesterday, at a time when Umno is again reaching out to PAS ostensibly for the sake of Islamic unity.

In a posting titled “The Rohingyas” on his blog, the former prime minister said the troubles of the ethnic minority were not unique but representative of the predicament facing Islamic nations the world over.

“Almost all Muslim countries and people are in trouble today. The latest are the Rohingyas of Myanmar,” he wrote in his latest blog entry.

“They are being forced to leave their own homes and country, to flee in leaky boats, overloaded and prone to being wrecked and they would be drowned (sic). All countries refuse to help these unfortunate creatures and they and their leaky boats get pushed back into the sea.”

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims have fled Myanmar over sectarian violence with Buddhists. Malaysia alone is host to some 80,000 such refugees from the country.

But Dr Mahathir said this was in part their own doing, claiming that Muslims across the world were being “bullied” from a failure to stand up together and for themselves.

“The weak of today are the Muslims. And the Muslims are weak because they choose to be weak,” Malaysia’s longest-serving prime minister wrote in his latest entry.

According to Dr Mahathir, this weakness was born from the complacency that Muslims have allowed themselves to be lulled into with wealth and resources.

“Since the Muslims care not for each other or for Islam anybody can beat any Muslim to death in full view of the other Muslims.

“We Muslims in Malaysia think this will not happen to us. So why should we care about what happens to the Rohingyas. It is their problem, not ours,” he added.

Although the former prime minister makes no mention of it in his entry, the message bore hallmarks of the call for Muslim unity that has formed the basis of attempts to get Umno and PAS to co-operate supposedly for the sake of the Malay community at large.

Muslim unity is a common rallying cry from the Malay nationalist party, which appears to view the elusive goal as a panacea of sorts to the various problems facing the country’s largest religion.

It is often used interchangeably with Malay unity, given the constitutional requirement that Malays must also be Muslims.

On Tuesday, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin resurrected calls for unity talks between the two rivals, coincidentally following a fresh agitation from the Islamist party’s ulama (clergy) class for it to reassess its partnership within the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) opposition pact.

“It is important for the country’s Muslims to be united because the Muslims still face many challenges. There is a need to work together or otherwise we would have problems.

“That is why (when it comes to) talks about Umno and PAS, we have no problem with that,” the Umno deputy president said at a forum at the International Islamic University here on Tuesday.

This came after members of PAS’s ulama approved a resolution at its Multaqa Ulama Se-Malaysia convention on Sunday that the party should reconsider the “harm” of its continued links to partners PKR and the PR pact.

Party sources later told The Malay Mail Online that the call was likely alluding to the ongoing legal tussle over “Allah” between Muslims and Christians here stemming from a 2009 court decision upholding the latter’s constitutional right to use the Arabic word.

Unity talks between PAS and Umno have continually surfaced after Election 2008, when Barisan Nasional (BN) lost its parliamentary supermajority to the then-fledgling PR pact.

It came to a head in December 2010, when top leaders from both parties met quietly in a Christmas Eve dinner hosted by the Terengganu Palace to discuss the issue of Malay-Muslim unity.

The engagement collapsed when PAS ― chiefly spiritual advisor Datuk Nik Aziz Nik Mat ― adamantly expressed support for non-Muslims’ right to use the word “Allah”.

But the “Allah” issue does not split just the two rivals; the ulama class in PAS also share Umno’s stance that the term was exclusive to Muslims, leading to schism within the party.

And with the recent losses suffered by the Islamist party’s progressive leaders during the May 5 general election, the previously dormant issue may resurface as the conservatives push their way back into the limelight ahead of the PAS elections.

    • Rohingya Exodus