PETALING JAYA, Dec 27— A DAP MP has lauded Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today for his "activist” stand against violence against Myanmar’s ethnic Rohingya community, admitting that opposition leaders "cautiously” welcome the strong act.

Despite that, Kluang MP Liew Chin Tong said there are many issues which Putrajaya has to iron out first before hitting at its neighbour Myanmar, including ratifying the United Nations (UN) Refugee Convention.

"We are not a signatory or we are apart of it, so we should be part of it, then we should handle the Rohingyas and others based on the UN Convention and not based on our own rules,” the Kluang MP told a Pakatan Harapan press conference on refugees here.

Liew also said that the Najib administration must apply the same enthusiasm on human rights within the country, as it has showed for the Rohingya people.

Last year, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim said Malaysia does not intend to become a signatory to the UN’s convention on refugees and migrant rights.

Shahidan told the Dewan Rakyat that Malaysia has its hands full dealing with "problems” brought by refugees here, since it has been lenient all this while by allowing them to make a living.

Shahidan said Putrajaya will not sign the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, also known as the 1951 Refugee Convention, and the Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees which came into force in 1967.

The 1951 convention among others defines who is a refugee, sets out the rights of asylum recipients, and the responsibilities of nations that grant asylum.

Liew urged Putrajaya today to implement the special registration system mooted by Organisation of Islamic Cooperation’s Special Envoy to Myanmar, Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar, to assist the Rohingta refugees here.

He said among others, it would enable the refugees registered under the system to obtain jobs and gain access to education and health facilities and prevent the Rohingyas from being victimised by anyone, including human traffickers.

Najib had early this month joined thousands of Rohingyas in a rally in Kuala Lumpur, demanding the Myanmar government to end the atrocities committed towards the Muslim ethnic minority.

The move however generate backlash from Myanmar, who lashed out at Putrajaya for breaking the non-interference policy among Asean nations.