Time for ASEAN to Look Into the Rohingya Issue

Datuk Seri Syed Ali Alhabshee

THE violence against the Rohingya Muslims in Burma shows no signs of abating.  From June 2012 till now, hundreds of Rohingya have risked their lives and made perilous sea journeys to Malaysia and Thailand, fearing persecution and death in their homeland.

The Malaysian government has valid reasons for not ratifying the 1951 UN Refugee Convention. We certainly cannot open the floodgates as we are already seeing an influx of refugees into the country. But we also cannot close an eye to the fact that they are fleeing here.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates there are atleast 150,000 refugees in Malaysia. And out of this figure at least 40,000 are Rohingya.

This number will of course be way higher now, following the influx of the Rohingya people who fear grotesque violence in their home country.

Therefore, ASEAN’s must vehemently condemn the ongoing violence against the minority Rohingya Muslims in Burma.

There is also a fear that the scheduled November elections in Burma would see another escalation of violence against the Rohingya and other Muslim communities in Burma.

Next week the heads of states will converge in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s federal capital, for the ASEAN meeting. And as the Chair of this 10-member coalition, Malaysia has a duty to bring back the issue of the Rohingya to the discussion table.

Many people were hopeful when Burma become the Chair of ASEAN last year as they assumed that this would provide a platform for debates about the pressing Rohingya issue. This hope was short-lived when Burma shamelessly banned all talks about the Rohingya.

To end this ongoing violence and targeted attacks against the Rohingya, the Burmese government must first accept them as citizens, include them in the peace process and ensure safety measures are in place for the Rohingya to go back home.

To kick start this process, ASEAN members must now speak up about the right to Burmese citizenship for the Rohingya, ensure they are included in the country’s ongoing peace process and make possible their right of return to their homeland.

I hope ASEAN member countries have the political will to do just that.