NOVEMBER 26 — When US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson finally switched his country’s stance on Myanmar’s actions against the Rohingya Muslim minority, labelling it this week as "ethnic cleansing”, it was a clear shift towards the diplomatic language and pressure that has been spearheaded by Malaysia.

The Trump administration — while still treading carefully on how it deals with Myanmar by not blaming the country’s political leaders directly — has significantly moved towards positions shared by Malaysia and other concerned countries.

It was a year ago that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak led a rally in Kuala Lumpur to protest what he called "ethnic cleansing” of the Rohingya community in Myanmar’s Rakhine state.

"Do you expect me, a leader of over 30 million people, to close my eyes? To stay silent? I will not,” he said.

"Someone tell Myanmar that the Asean Charter also protects human rights. They cannot just interpret whatever they like. What do you expect us to do? We are a community of nations. We need to protect the Rohingya, not because they are of the same religion as us, but because they are humans. Their lives matter.”

In January, Najib expanded on this during an Extraordinary Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in Kuala Lumpur.

"As a true and long-standing friend to Myanmar, I say this from the bottom of my heart: It is time to end this crisis. How should it be resolved?” he said then.

"For a start, the killing must stop. The burning of houses must stop. The violation of women and girls must stop. The persecution of your fellow men and women, simply on the grounds that they are Muslim, must stop. The denial of basic rights to your fellow human beings must stop.”

In recent months, Malaysia has been relentless in applying diplomatic pressure.

Malaysia disassociated itself from the Asean statement on the humanitarian crisis in Rakhine State in September because it made no mention of the Rohingya as one of the affected parties.

Before travelling to Washington that same month, the prime minister said he would raise the plight of the Rohingya with US President Donald Trump, whose administration still had not publicly addressed the matter then.

Following the White House meeting with President Trump, a joint statement showed Najib was true to his word.

"They discussed the need to end the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar. Both leaders called for an end to the violence targeting civilian populations, and discussed the need for a strong international community response for the hundreds of thousands of individuals who have been victimised and displaced by violence, including those who have arrived in Bangladesh. Both sides urged the Myanmar government to end the violence against innocents and ensure that humanitarian relief reaches victims immediately,” said the joint statement.

And this week, the US acknowledged what has always been the position of the Najib administration and Malaysia.

"No provocation can justify the horrendous atrocities that have ensued,” Tillerson said.

"These abuses by some among the Burmese military, security forces, and local vigilantes have caused tremendous suffering. ... After a careful and thorough analysis of available facts, it is clear that the situation in northern Rakhine state constitutes ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya.”

Washington’s altered stance on the Rohingya shows the Najib administration’s diplomatic advocacy is working.

Putrajaya must therefore continue on this path and not rest until the senseless violence stops.