Najib: There's possibility US will provide aid to Rohingya

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has confirmed that the plight of the Rohingya - one of the world's most persecuted minorities - was raised in his meeting with US President Donald Trump.

In his speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington DC yesterday, Najib said he has long expressed his concern over the plight of the Rohingya.

Many, he noted, have said that the atrocities committed against the Rohingya could be described as constituting ethnic cleansing or genocide.

"I promised the Malaysian people that I would raise this with President Trump – and I did.

"I am glad to say that the president shares my concern and that is why this heart-rending humanitarian crisis was included in our joint statement," he said.

Although admitting that he cannot state exactly what the US government planned to do, Najib said there is now "a distinct possibility that they will also provide humanitarian assistance to these desperate victims of atrocities that the world simply cannot ignore".

The world, he believes, is almost completely united in being appalled by the latest wave of violence, which also has the potential to radicalise desperate young people enraged by their government’s treatment of them.

In the Malaysia-US joint statement, both leaders had called for an end to the violence targeting civilian populations and discussed the need for a strong international community response for the hundreds of thousands of individuals who have been victimised and displaced.

"Both sides urged the Myanmar government to end the violence against innocents and ensure that humanitarian relief reaches victims immediately," the joint statement reads.

The mounting conflict in Rakhine State has escalated in recent months, with increasing violence committed by the Myanmar military regime against the Rohingya.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have fled the persecution, with most of them having escaped to Bangladesh. - Mkini