MP SPEAKS | Prime Minister Najib Razak's statement that "Bangladesh is not alone in the Rohingya crisis" seems reassuring enough for the Bangladesh government, but what does it mean to the Rohingya themselves?
The United Nations having been accused of being "too close" to the Rohingya, has been forced to evacuate most of their staff from Myanmar and are trying to get the Red Cross to fill the void left by the UN. These all seem to indicate to the Rohingya that aid will only be available to them in Bangladesh, that is if they can make it to the border and the Bangladesh authorities allow them in.
Are we seeing another displaced Palestinian situation being created in Asia? As it is now, it’s the poor helpless Rohingya against the Myanmar junta army's ethnic cleansing and ‘operation scorched earth’.
We in Malaysia should ask our government if we have been doing enough or have we been merely paying lip service. For a start, why did the government refuse the motion to debate the Rohingya issue and make an official stand during the previous Parliament session? Instead, a week later Umno and PAS held their own assembly on Rohingya solidarity at Stadium Titiwangsa.
It may be convenient for Najib to say to his Bangladesh counterpart that he is not alone facing the current huge influx of refugees from the Rohingya crisis, with images of Najib holding up packets of food aid to be sent to Bangladesh. What most of us were appalled and ashamed of was when Malaysian authorities turned away boat loads of Rohingya refugees sailing to Malaysia on high seas last year.
Who are we to tell Bangladesh they are not alone to accept the flood of hundreds of thousands of refugees when we ourselves in Malaysia turned away the early trickle of a few refugees the previous years? Do we practice what we preach? What hypocrisy we show to the world.
The wife of President Erdogan from far away Turkey has been to Bangladesh to supervise and see for herself the refugee situation. Many have suggested our first lady Rosmah Mansor from close by Malaysia, should make a similar trip to observe the Rohingya tragedy. After all, she has at her disposal the numerous government private jets she had previously used to fly to Turkey just to pick up an award.
Unless the muddy grounds and humidity of Bangladesh is too much for her compared to the glossy streets and cool air of London and Paris. We would be proud to see some serious commitment from our first lady in times of crisis such as this.
Lame excuses
Lastly, we are tired of listening to lame excuses from our foreign ministers in Parliament of our so-called non-interference policy when ethnic cleansing and thousands are being killed by the Myanmar army.
When asked about Aung San Suu Kyi's Nobel prize award to be withdrawn, Najib cooly replied it is a separate matter. It is not a separate matter. Mr Prime Minister, when the president of a nation says and does nothing when ethnic cleansing and mass murder are being committed.
It is sad, and is hypocrisy in its worse form when our Sports and Youth Minister Khairy Jamaluddin urged the UN to convene a special session on the Rohingya crisis when the Malaysian government itself refused to debate the issue in our own Parliament session.
Before they seek to advise or lecture others on the Rohingya crisis, they should better do a lot of soul-searching to establish if they really had done enough themselves to help the long-suffering persecuted Rohingya.
Practise what you preach!
RAJA BAHRIN SHAH is Amanah international bureau chairperson and Kuala Terengganu MP. - Mkini
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