Najib Razak says he has been consistent in his view on the plight of the Rohingya, dismissing suggestions that he is hypocritical in urging the authorities to shun asylum for the Muslim refugees from Myanmar.
The former prime minister also accused news portal FMT of “twisting” his view on the Rohingya and “building a perception that I was hypocritical”, saying a solidarity rally he led in support of the Rohingya some four years ago was not meant to encourage refugees to come to Malaysia.
“I am not a hypocrite. The Barisan Nasional government during my time had given so much assistance to the Rohingya,” he said.
“We joined hands with PAS to organise the rally to press the Myanmar government to stop its cruelties on the ethnic Rohingya. We highlighted what was happening to the Rohingya in Myanmar at that time.
“We did not hold a rally to ask all Rohingya refugees to come to Malaysia,” he wrote on Facebook.
Earlier, FMT quoted Najib as saying that Malaysia was not obliged to help Rohingya, amid growing fears that tens of thousands of them could be the worst affected by the Covid-19 lockdowns declared in several areas where the community has been concentrated.
His remarks came amid a spike in xenophobic comments on social media targeted at the Rohingya, after activists appealed to the government to include refugees living in areas under the enhanced movement control order (EMCO) when channelling food aid.
Najib said under his administration, he had made clear that Malaysia’s assistance to Rohingya was based on humanitarian grounds, and not meant as a signal that the country’s borders were open to all.
He also took to task the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), accusing it of inaction over the Rohingya’s plight.
“Until when should Malaysia shoulder this responsibility alone?
“The NGOs should pressure the UN and UNHCR into taking action. Don’t just pressure Malaysia,” he added.
Najib further said the Rohingya community should be “sensitive” to local sentiments during the Covid-19 crisis.
He said the move to push back Rohingya boat people last week was the correct decision, saying allowing them to land on Malaysian shores would open a floodgate of refugees which would put more Rohingya lives in danger.
“Will you take responsibility if more Rohingya lives are lost while escaping to Malaysia?” he asked.
Last week, rights groups criticised the action by authorities in pushing back some 500 Rohingya trying to make their way into Malaysian waters after being stranded for weeks at sea.
Some 30 refugees reportedly died of starvation as a result, before the others were rescued by Bangladeshi coast guards.
The violence against Rohingya Muslims, who the United Nations considers the most persecuted minority in the world, had led to hundreds of thousands of Rohingya seeking shelter in neighbouring countries.
There are an estimated 200,000 Rohingya refugees in Malaysia, but they have been denied legal employment as the government does not recognise them as refugees.
In 2016, Najib led a rally to highlight the plight of the Rohingya people, condemning the Myanmar government as well as Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi over her silence in voicing out against the violence targeted at the Rohingya in the Arakan region.
“Myanmar says I am interfering in their personal business. I do not care,” Najib told a rally in Kuala Lumpur in December 2016, attended by thousands of supporters, including from PAS, then a political rival to Umno.