KUALA LUMPUR: The Rohingya Society of Malaysia (RSM) today apologised to the Malaysian government and its people on behalf of the refugee community for certain demands allegedly issued by its members recently.
“We apologise to the Malaysian government and its people,” said RSM deputy president Abdul Ghani Abdul Rahman, adding that the Rohingya community in the country fully acknowledged their status as refugees.
The demand of equal rights was not the stand of the community as a whole, he said, adding that it was the agenda of a handful of Rohingya individuals in the country.
Abdul Ghani, in a phone interview with Bernama TV (Astro 502), said 97,000 members of the Rohingya community in the country and registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) are very grateful to be accepted in the country.
“We apologise to all Malaysians and the Malaysian government as the demands are not from the community but from one or two Rohingya individuals, and whether it is true or not I really don’t know,” he said.
He was referring to a number of statements made by individuals from the Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organisation in Malaysia (Merhrom) demanding certain things from the Malaysian government such as equal rights, job opportunities, health access and education.
The demands have triggered unprecedented negative sentiments among some members of the community against Rohingya refugees in Malaysia, with many urging the government to repatriate all Rohingyas and stop accepting them in the future.
Meanwhile, Abdul Ghani said in the wake of the global fight against the Covid-19 pandemic, it was only fair for the Malaysian government to refrain from accepting refugees seeking protection in the country with Malaysia having its own Movement Control Order (MCO) entering its fourth phase.
On April 16, Malaysian authorities turned away 200 Rohingya refugees who tried to enter the country illegally near Langkawi’s waters by boat. The day before, Bangladesh’s coast guard rescued 382 starving Rohingya refugees, mostly women and children, who had been drifting at sea for more than two months after failing to reach Malaysia.
As of Sept 30, 2019, a total of 177,943 UNHCR cardholders from 57 countries were registered in the country with the highest number are from Myanmar at 153,591 people, including over 100,000 Rohingya refugees. - Bernama
