Minister’s office accuses FMT of irresponsible reporting on China speech

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mujahid Yusof Rawa.

PETALING JAYA: The office of Mujahid Yusof Rawa today accused FMT of irresponsible reporting as he refuted an article on a speech he made in Beijing last week, where he warned against “false news” about the oppression of Muslims in China.

In a statement, it said the report was “confusing, inaccurate and did not reflect the entirety of the speech”. It said Mujahid had never directly referred to Xinjiang, where China has been accused of grave human rights violations in placing thousands of Muslim dissidents in special “re-education” camps.

“For the record, Muslims in China do not only comprise ethnic Uighurs but other ethnicities including Huis, Kazakhs, Uzbeks and Tajiks,” the statement said.

Mujahid, in a speech at the Beijing Foreign Studies University, had made a comparison between news reports about Muslims in China and Hindus in Malaysia.

“False news in China about Muslims being oppressed could trigger a wave of sympathy for the oppressed and affect relationships.

“Meanwhile false news about Hindu followers being treated unjustly by Muslims in Malaysia, for example, could trigger hatred towards the Muslim minority in India,” Mujahid said.

However, Mujahid’s office did not explain his earlier comments which drew criticism from Amnesty International, in which he referred to indoctrination camps in Xinjiang as “training centres”.

The comments accompanied photographs which he posted on Facebook of his delegation’s visit to one such camp in Xinjiang.

“Training centres” is Beijing’s euphemism for what human rights organisations have condemned as concentration camps.

Mujahid’s office defended the visit to the camps, saying it was approved by the Cabinet and that he had been in consultation with Wisma Putra the entire time.

“In fact, Mujahid also stressed religious freedom and respecting the rights of citizens on religion.

“This is the first time a minister from Malaysia spoke about religious issues to a representative of China and the response was positive,” the statement said.

Rights bodies have long accused China of cracking down on dissent in Xinjiang under the guise of fighting Muslim extremism.- FMT