Bersatu Youth wants Malaysia to mediate between China and Uyghurs

Bersatu Youth wants Malaysia to act as a mediator between China and Uyghurs in the Xinjiang province.

The wing's leadership, in a statement today, cited Malaysia's past experience in mediating between Muslim separatists and the governments of Thailand and the Philippines.

"Bersatu Youth believed that if China opens its doors to more neutral agencies and representatives from Muslim majority governments, we will get a clearer picture of the situation," it also said.

Over one million Uyghurs in Xinjiang have reportedly been forced into "re-education camps" by Beijing.

China claimed its re-education of Uyghurs is to curb extremism. The country's state media have released two documentaries detailing alleged terrorism in Xinjiang.

Yesterday, a group of NGOs led by Angkatan Gerak Minda Malaysia (Agra) gathered outside the China embassy in Kuala Lumpur to handover a memorandum condemning Beijing's treatment of Uyghurs.

However, the embassy did not send out any representatives to accept the memorandum. 

Bersatu Youth said it was in solidarity with the NGOs.

In a response to the memorandum yesterday, the embassy's spokesperson Tang Tang said while Beijing was open to constructive criticisms, it would "never accept irresponsible, utterly groundless accusations based on falsehoods."

Tang said the social media in Malaysia was rife with fake news about Xinjiang, and that Malaysians were free to visit the "beautiful" and "peaceful" province. - Mkini