Malaysia Must Reject Hate and Confront Myanmar Over the Rohingya Crisis

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government has largely remained silent about the recent online “hate campaign” targeting Rohingya refugees.

Two elderly Rohingya refugees at their home in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Last month, more than 400,000 people signed a petition on Change.org calling for the removal of Rohingya refugees from Malaysia. The petition is part of a widening hate campaign targeting Rohingya refugees and others, fed by fabricated allegations of criminality and dangerous misinformation about an already vulnerable community.

Malaysia has long been a refuge for various communities from Myanmar, including the Rohingya, Chin, Bamar, Karen, Rakhine and other ethnicities. No refugee community should be subjected to hostility or abuse, and the recent targeting of Rohingya refugees reflects a broader failure to protect people fleeing violence and persecution in Malaysia. The Rohingya, who have fled decades of genocide at the hands of the Myanmar military and renewed violence in Rakhine State by the Arakan Army, have been singled out for intense xenophobic hostility by the Malaysian public and some officials.

People are entitled to express concerns about public policy on migration and refugees. But freedom of expression is not a license to incite discrimination, hatred, or violence.

The danger is greater when prominent public figures lend legitimacy to this hateful rhetoric, calling Rohingya a “cancer,” “dirty” “threats or criminals,” and “intruders.” This is despite the fact that only 89 Rohingya have been convicted for criminal offences since 2024, according to the latest government statistics, making up a tiny 0.02 percent of all criminal cases in Malaysia during that time.

Nevertheless, the Deputy Inspector-General of Police has described the Rohingya issue as a barah (“cancer”) requiring urgent action. Elected officials have endorsed expelling Rohingya from Malaysia, an act that contravenes the principle of non-refoulment in international refugee law. Some have called for the demolition of Rohingya homes, the severing of water and electricity supplies, and the forced expulsion of refugees to Myanmar or Bangladesh.

Yet Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government has largely stayed silent as the hostility has escalated. The authorities should actively counter misinformation, fabricated crime allegations, and other false narratives targeting Rohingya refugees, and hold those responsible for inciting discrimination or violence accountable in accordance with the law.

Malaysia has long presented itself as a defender of persecuted Muslims globally. Remaining indifferent to and failing to protect Rohingya refugees, who are predominantly Muslim, risks undermining that reputation.

Even before the recent wave of hate, many refugees have described living in constant fear of arbitrary arrest, detention, and abuse by the Malaysian authorities. Rohingya refugees are particularly vulnerable to indefinite detention. A recent Fortify Rights investigation found that refugees had been detained without meaningful access to legal representation, fair judicial review, or any realistic prospect of release. Detainees are often subjected to ill-treatment and poor conditions, including inadequate healthcare, lack of clean water and food, and squalid conditions in detention, sometimes enduring such horrific conditions for years. Some have been forcibly repatriated to Myanmar or Bangladesh by Malaysian authorities.

Amid growing hostility against Rohingya refugees, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail’s remarks on June 8 gave hope for a more constructive approach: “We cannot avoid managing this issue. It must be handled wisely and humanely, while safeguarding the country’s security, the people’s interests, and our international standing.”

This is the approach Malaysia should embrace. The Rohingya refugee crisis requires empathy, pragmatism, and strong regional cooperation –........

© The Diplomat