Retired army man dismisses viral statement condemning Rohingya refugees

A retired army personnel has been linked to a condemning statement about the Rohingya refugees in Malaysia.

Mohd Radzi Abdul Hamid's purported official statement on the Rohingya entitled "Siapakah Rohingya?" (Who are the Rohingya?) has circulated on social media and shared by thousands of netizens.

Startled by the incident, Mohd Radzi had issued a statement explaining that an unscrupulous individual had used his full name and picture, as well as highlighting the Malaysian Armed Forces in the statement.

"The statement was widely spread for personal interest and I don't know why," he said.

When contacted, Mohd Radzi explained that the excerpts of the article were taken from his casual chat with his followers on Facebook.

"Someone had irresponsibly copied the article, tweaked it, and made it look official by inserting my picture, full name, and stating the Malaysian Armed Forces.

"This is wrong," he said.

Asked on his views on the Rohingya issue, Mohd Radzi said the government had assisted the refugees the best that it could but the government should return the refugees to their countries of origin or refugee centres under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

"We have helped them the best that we could although we did not sign the 1951 Refugee Convention. They should be sent back home or to a refugee centre. The UNHCR should decide.

"We helped them because our religion teaches us to help, but we also have to be mindful. They want more than what is given," he said.

The issue about the Rohingya surfaced after the authorities prevented boats ferrying Rohingya refugees from arriving on Malaysian shores recently.

Human rights NGO Amnesty International, among others, had slammed the authorities for not allowing the refugees to enter the country. - Mkini