Malaysia’s stand on Rohingya crisis based on humanitarian factors — PM

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia’s strong stand on the Rohingya crisis was made based on humanitarian factors, not religion, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said.

As such, the prime minister said Malaysia would continue its fight for the Rohingya cause and also in finding the ultimate solution to the issue.

“We take note that a peaceful protest demonstration was held today in accordance with the law to announce our stand to the people.

“We also take into consideration the action the country can take in the context of ASEAN, the United Nations (UN) forum and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

“In fact, tomorrow I will launch a humanitarian mission that will be managed by the Ministry of Defence and the Bangladesh government in providing direct assistance to Rohingya refugees who have fled from their original residence and are now based in Chittagong (Bangladesh),” he said.

Najib, who is also the Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman, said this to reporters after chairing the BN Supreme Council meeting yesterday.

A protest demonstration was organised by BN Youth yesterday to demand the UN to take immediate action on the humanitarian crisis affecting the Rohingya Muslim community in Rakhine, Myanmar.

When asked about Malaysia’s next cause of action should the humanitarian issue become more serious and cause excessive influx of Rohingya refugees to Malaysia, Najib said the government would tackle it based on humanitarian principles.

Najib said what matters most was for the issue to be resolved comprehensively without denying the rights of the Rohingyas, and that the issue was the responsibility of the international community.

The Prime Minister’s Office in a statement yesterday said Malaysia would initiate the ‘Humanitarian Mission for Rohingya’, an integrated aid mission to send immediate supply of aid and assistance to refugees currently taking shelter on Bangladesh-Myanmar border. - Bernama