Myanmar Muslim groups ‘dismayed’ by Malaysian PM’s pro-Rohingya rally

The Coalition of Myanmar Muslim Civil Society Groups sent a letter to Malaysia’s ruling party Umno yesterday, calling the party out on its political capitalization on the Rohingya crisis in Rakhine State.

At the rally on Sunday, Prime Minister Najib Razak criticized Aung San Suu Kyi and the Myanmar government for their complicity in a “genocide” against the Rohingya in Rakhine State.

“Enough is enough,” he has been widely quoted as saying at the rally. He also pledged to defend Muslims and Islam.

However, the Myanmar Muslim coalition’s letter said the event was “nothing but aiming at the political interest of the [sic] Malaysia’s ruling party”.

Najib is now fighting allegations that he looted of billions of dollars in public cash through the state fund 1MDB, and analysts have pointed out that he is seeking to bolster his reputation before the next Malaysian election, which is scheduled for 2018 but could be called earlier.

The coalition also took issue with Najib’s framing of the Rohingya issue as a religious one, writing: “We hereby assert that the Muslim community in Myanmar do not take it as a religious persecution, but a controversial ethnic issue.”

“We are dismayed by poorly informed initiatives like the rally in Malaysia, which could further worsen the already difficult situation and be considered as a threat to the unity and stability of the ASEAN community,” reads the coalition’s letter.

In its conclusion, the coalition reiterates that it will never tolerate any discrimination based on race, ethnicity or religion and welcomes support that can yield positive results and that respects national sovereignty.

Government records from 2014 place the Muslim population of Myanmar at around 4 percent of the total population of 51 million, while the Burmese Muslim Association claims the true figure is between 8 percent and 12 percent.

According to the 2014 national census, there 1.3 million Rohingya in Myanmar – around 2.5 percent of the total population.

See the entire text of the letter below:

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