KUALA LUMPUR, June 4 — Rohingyans in Malaysia are pleading for the international community to pressure the Myanmar government to acknowledge their right to be citizens of that country.

Rohingya Society in Malaysia president Dr Abdul Hamid Musa Ali said the Rohingya had been in Arakan State in Myanmar since the seventh century which was longer than the Myanmarese.

“Yet, we are the ones being persecuted,” he said.

Hamid said bad blood between the Myanmar government and the Rohingya began in 1982 when their citizenships were taken away.

“On June 3, 2012, there was genocide of our people where there was a massacre and destruction carried out in Arakan State,” he said.

The massacre, Hamid said, was targeted on Muslims, specifically the Rohingya people.

“More than 5000 Rohingya were killed then, and more than 140,000 people have been forced to flee their homes,” he said.

“The reason why human trafficking is such a problem in Myanmar is because it is a lucrative business.”

Hamid said each Rohingya could be priced at between RM3,000 and RM7,000.

“They won’t have the money to pay upfront. But these traffickers would tell them they can pay later.

“And when they are taken into the forests, they are beaten and starved till a relative in the other country can pay for them.

“If no money comes, then they die,” he said.

“The problem with the mass graves found in Thailand and Malaysia, and human trafficking stems from the Myanmar government,” said Rohingya Media Network chief executive officer Muhammed Noor yesterday at the Third Commemoration Day of Rohingya Genocide at the Ampang Jaya Municipal Council Hall. 

“Many are referring to the Rohingya people as migrants, but they are not migrants.

“They are fleeing not for economical gain, but for their lives,” he said.