A petition calling for Rohingyas to be removed from Malaysia has been taken down for review by Change.org following criticism from civil society groups towards the latest hate campaign against the persecuted community.
Before it was taken down, the petition, believed to have been started by Malaysians, had received more than 424,000 signatures as of June 8, according to a report by The South China Morning Post.
The situation has been further inflamed after it was discovered that an unauthorised flat had allegedly been built by the refugees on private land in Sungai Tekali, Hulu Langat.
Hate campaigns against Rohingyas, other refugees, and migrants are not new in Malaysia, say NGO leaders. In 2021, media reports quoted residents feeling uncomfortable about Rohingya and other foreigners living in their flats or working in local markets.
The latest flare-up that led to the petition appeared to be part of a disinformation campaign against Rohingya refugees that started circulating on social media.
One source was a poster claiming that a Rohingya leader, a “Rohingya Malaysia President” had requested that Selayang be used as a settlement for the community, which had been exiled from their native Rakhine state in Myanmar by force.
The poster, made up to look like an official news bulletin, was shared by Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s daughter, Nurulhidayah.
According to the screenshot of the poster shared by Nurulhidayah, the image had originated from the TikTok account user @the_pandir_post.
Disinformation campaign
The TikTok account described itself as sharing “satire news all over the world” and mainly posts AI-generated content. The poster itself was tagged with a label indicating that it contains AI-generated elements, as per TikTok’s policy.
A search by Malaysiakini found no media sources quoting the purported Rohingya leader making such a demand, and neither does the “Rohingya Malaysia” group appear to exist.
Despite this, as of 5pm on June 10, the image in question had garnered 808 “hearts”, 119 saves, 539 shares, and 431 comments.
A significant portion of the commentators called for the community to be “chased out” of Malaysia, with the publisher liking many of these comments.
The hate campaign had also used a screenshot of a post, made up to look like it was taken from a Facebook group called the “Rohingya Solidarity Network Malaysia”.
The post urged Malaysia to provide land for refugees and slammed the bumiputera policy as “racist”.
Although it appears to be authentic, administrators of the Facebook group have said the screenshot and post were “fabricated” and did not represent the group’s position.
“We have never made such claims. We are here as refugees seeking safety and survival, not asking for land, citizenship or political control,” the group wrote.
Similar to campaign that sparked genocide
Rohingya Women Collaborative Network executive director Yasmin Ullah said the accusations resembled anti-Rohingya propaganda that had spread in Myanmar.
“The hate speech targeting Rohingya in Malaysia today echoes the same narrative spread by Buddhist nationalists in Myanmar before the 2017 genocidal campaign, portraying Rohingya as invaders, threats, and people who don't belong,” Yasmin said in a report by Sinar Daily.
Pusat Komas founder Jerald Joseph told Malaysiakini that the latest campaign against the Rohingya seemed like a coordinated effort.
However, the former Suhakam commissioner admitted that this suspicion is hard to verify and would require expert skills, such as the MCMC, which is empowered to halt such behaviour.
Joseph said that the recent attacks could be due to a combination of global, local, economic, and political factors.
“Whenever there are hardships and troubles, like price hikes, anger is directed at the voiceless. They are easy targets of xenophobic people,” he commented.
When asked why Malaysians view Rohingya refugees so negatively, Joseph said the sentiment grew rapidly during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Things can only improve with policies, political leadership, and social movements so that Malaysia does not eventually devolve into a country similar to those in the West, which have anti-immigrant policies, he added.
Stop the hate
Rohingya refugee leader Zafar Ahmad Abdul Ghani urged a halt to the hatred directed at his community, which he described as a disinformation campaign.
The Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organisation president also requested that the Malaysian government, along with Asean, uphold the rights of refugees and protect those who had fled their homelands due to conflict.
“Day by day, the Rohingya continue facing hate speech, disinformation, xenophobia, and Islamophobia.
“These are the main reasons why we become enemies and fight each other,” he lamented.
Zafar claimed that he himself has been the victim of doxxing, with social media users inciting hatred against him and attempting to locate his home.
“They (the Malaysians targeting him) asked many Rohingya where my house is located,” he claimed. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.