KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 4 — Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi questioned today Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s effort to instill peace in her country amid violence against the Rohingya.
“We want to ask that leader who received a Nobel prize. What did she do in that country to create peace?
“This is not a matter of interference. This is a question of humanity and paying heed to it,” he said to roaring cheers and applauds from within the hall in Titiwangsa Stadium here and outside.
“We want the international community, we want the United Nations, we want the international court of criminal to take action against the leaders and the Junta military in Myanmar,” he added.
Thousands flooded the Titiwangsa Stadium today, mostly members of the Rohingya community, to demand justice for the minority group in Rakhine, Myanmar, where an army crackdown has, according to UK daily the Guardian, reportedly resulted in the deaths of at least 86 people and displaced 10,000 who fled to Bangladesh.
Yesterday, Aung San Suu Kyi reportedly accused the international community of stoking resentment between Muslims and Buddhists in northwest Myanmar and said the world should not forget that the military operation was a response to attacks on the police at border guard posts bordering Bangladesh. The Myanmar government has blamed Muslim insurgents for the October attacks that killed nine police officers.
The Guardian reported that Myanmar’s military and government have denied claims by human rights groups and residents that soldiers had raped Rohingya women, killed civilians and burned houses during the military operation in Rakhine.
The Rohingya solidarity gathering today in Kuala Lumpur was organised by Yayasan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia (Yadeim) and several other local Malay-Muslim NGOs.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang along with several other top leaders of Umno attended the gathering today.
In his speech, Abdul Hadi labelled the mass killing in Rakhine as an “uncivilised” act devoid of any humanity.
“What is happening to the Rohingya community is not civilised anymore.
“Don’t just champion animal rights. Prioritising rights of wild animals above humans who are ill treated,” the Marang MP said in his speech.
Two days ago, The Myanmar Times reported U Zaw Htay, the deputy director-general of Myanmar’s President’s Office demanding that Malaysia not interfere in its internal affairs.
However, Wisma Putra, in a strongly-worded reply, said the spillover effect of the Rohingya humanitarian crisis would affect the safety, security and standing of Malaysia.
Most of the Rohingya in Myanmar, numbering about one million, do not have citizenship despite having lived in the country for generations, are denied access to healthcare and education, and face restrictions to movement.
