DISCRIMINATION OF BENGALI MUSLIMS (‘ROHINGYA’)

IN MUSLIM COUNTRIES IS PROFOUND - WHY?

- MALAYSIA -
By Rick Heizman, Nov 22, 2020

The population of Bengali Muslims (‘Rohingya’) is

spread out in a diaspora spread out among many
countries, with the highest (approximate) numbers
being in:
Bangladesh - 1,100,000 (both before and after 2017)
Myanmar - 600,000
Pakistan - 350,000-500,000
Saudi Arabia - 200,000
Malaysia - 150,000
United Arab Emirates - 50,000
India - 40,000

People and institutions ignorant of history might call them ‘Rohingya’ - a politically constructed
term supported by a false history and false identity, designed to twist world opinion to favor the
land-grab and intended genocidal elimination of all non-Muslims - Buddhists, Hindus, and ethnic
minorities - from the land of ancient Arakan, modern Rakhine State, Myanmar.
All the Muslim countries scream and belligerently demand that Buddhist Myanmar welcome
the recent refugees back and allow them to resettle their old villages, and be granted
citizenship and voting rights. (these refugees are the same people that strongly supported
and assisted the colossal attacks against the Buddhists, Hindus, and ethnic minorities, August
2017).
Perhaps the Muslim countries with large populations of Bengali Muslims can show, by example,
how to treat the Bengali Muslims (whom with their Islamic victimhood tout that they are the most
persecuted people in the world).
But….wait a minute! Am I implying that the Muslim countries are possibly abusing, using, and
discriminating against the Bengali Muslims?
Malaysia Champions Them, But Doesn’t Want Them
Muslim-majority Malaysia has long been a favored destination for Bengali Muslims
(‘Rohingya’) seeking a better life after fleeing the violence of 2017 that they had actually
committed against the Buddhists, Hindu, and ethnic minorities in Rakhine State, Myanmar.
Most of them first crossed into Bangladesh, enduring the open prison-like conditions and
restrictions of the refugee camps in Bangladesh. Many decided to risk their lives and try to
make it to Malaysia, where they thought the Malay Muslims should treat them better than then
their fellow Bangladesh Muslims had.

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But Malaysia, which does not recognize refugee status, has been turning away boatloads of
Bengalis, and has detained hundreds of Rohingya, amid rising anger towards the ‘foreigner
Rohingya’ whom many Malay Muslims accuse of spreading the coronavirus and taking up
scarce state funds.
Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has said that Malaysia can no longer take in Rohingya
Muslim refugees from Myanmar, citing a struggling economy and dwindling resources as a
result of the novel coronavirus pandemic.
“We can no longer take more as our resources and capacity are already stretched,
compounded by the COVID-19 pandemic,” Muhyiddin said in teleconference with other
leaders of the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), which includes
Myanmar. “Rohingya nationals who are holders of United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) , the U.N.'s refugee agency, cards have no status, rights or basis to make
any claims on the government,” he said. “The government of Malaysia does not recognize
their status as refugees but as illegal immigrants.”
Malaysia is not a signatory to the UN Convention on Refugees, and asylum seekers are not
allowed to work or send their children to school. Malaysia’s policies pertaining to refugees
are very restrictive – refugees are unable to work legally in Malaysia, refugees cannot
attend Malaysian schools, and only registered refugees can access public health
services.
The vast majority of refugees in Malaysia do not receive formal assistance. Very few receive
any form of aid; according to one study by the International Rescue Committee (IRC), 92% of
refugee respondents said neither they nor a member of their household had received
humanitarian aid or services during the previous year. Despite the limited aid available to
refugees in Malaysia, the Malaysian government expects refugees’ needs to be met by the
international community – while at the same time erecting obstacles that impede assistance:
Malaysia considers the task of providing refugees with protection, assistance and solutions to
be the responsibility of the international community in general, and particularly the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), (the U.N.'s refugee agency), rather than
that of the state.
The UNHCR
With limited NGO and state involvement, the UNHCR, has become the most prominent and
influential formal institution in refugees’ lives, serving not only as the gatekeeper to
registration and resettlement, but also the most visible potential provider of financial,
livelihoods, protection and health support. The UNHCR has provided protection and related
assistance for Rohingya and other refugees for decades: it has operated in Malaysia since
1975. However, financial and other resource constraints limit the degree and quality of
assistance UNHCR can provide, and efforts to encourage greater government, community
and civil society support for refugees and building capacity within refugee communities is an
ongoing, long-term process.
The vast majority of Rohingya are unable to obtain a passport or citizenship document in
Myanmar, and arrive in Malaysia with a Myanmar identity document or no documents at all.
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The primary (and often only) identity document used by
refugees in Malaysia is a UNHCR card. In order to obtain a
UNHCR card, asylum-seekers must apply to be registered
by UNHCR, and then wait to be given an appointment,
however, here is no mechanism to inform refugees whether
or not their letter has been received.
In the meantime, Malaysia's Rohingya refugees remain in
limbo, discouraged from putting down new roots, scared to
return to Myanmar (where they claimed they were denied
their human rights - which ironically are the same as those
being denied in their host Muslim country) and with
shrinking options to move on as some Western countries tighten their immigration policies.
Though Malaysia lets refugees register with the UNHCR, the U.N.'s refugee agency, the
country does not provide them with aid and denies them the right to work, while charging
them for health care. Rights groups say that leaves most refugees with little choice but to toil
in the country's shadow economy, where they can fall prey to employers ready to exploit their
desperation, paying them less than others or not at all. Refugees also are barred from
attending government schools, cutting them off from another path to improving their lot.
The tenuous legal status of refugees in Malaysia renders them vulnerable to employment-
related abuse and exploitation, including non-payment or partial payment of wages, verbal
abuse, arbitrary dismissal, physical abuse, sexual harassment and workplace raids. Refugees
have little recourse to address these problems, and most incidents go unreported.
Refugees also struggle to access health and education. UNHCR estimates that only 40% of
refugee children have access to any form of education; as refugee children are prohibited
from attending government schools, most education is provided through informal learning
centers supported by UNHCR, NGOs, faith-based organizations and refugees themselves.
While refugees with UNHCR cards are able to receive treatment at government health
facilities, the cost is often prohibitively high and those without UNHCR cards have extremely
limited options for accessing secondary care.
Malaysia's Sympathy for the Migrants Turns to Abandonment
Malaysia's criticism of Myanmar over the Rohingya issue has been vocal, especially in recent
years. Government leaders have spoken out through different platforms, including the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation
(OIC). However, things have visibly changed in recent months, particularly following the
Covid-19 pandemic. Malaysia has not only changed its tone but also its policy and actions
toward the people it had championed and advocated for. Malaysia has transformed from
being a loud vocal critic of Myanmar and the refugee crisis (that it unjustifiably claims is
entirely to blame on Myanmar), to a country unsympathetic to the ‘Rohingya cause’.
A chief reason why Malaysia has been sympathetic to the cause of Rohingya is because of its
shared Islamic faith - certainly if the refugees were Hindu, Buddhist, or Christian then

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Malaysia would not have any interest. But it is intriguing as to why Malaysia has decided to
change its perception toward the Rohingya, whose fate is still very much precarious.
The treatment of Rohingya has been divisive for ASEAN, with its two Muslim-majority
members - Malaysia and Indonesia - criticizing Buddhist-majority Myanmar and expressing
growing frustration with Rohingya arriving on boats operated by people smugglers. Rohingya
have for years boarded boats between November and April, when the seas are calm, to get to
Southeast Asian countries including Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia, however, on the dark
side is the increasing risk for exploitation, slavery and recruitment by militants.
Malaysian Defense Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on June 9, 2020 that boats carrying
Rohingya refugees were not welcome in Malaysia and instead pushed them back to
Bangladesh. The minister warned that, "The Rohingya should know, if they come here, they
cannot stay.”
Hate Speech and COVID-19 Repercussions
Not only is it refusing to accept the boat people, but Malaysia's tone has changed with
heightened hate speech and xenophobic treatment. The surge in hate speech is believed to
have been triggered partly by claims that the Rohingya were demanding land of their own,
citizenship, and other legal rights in Malaysia. Viral videos demanding Malaysia give
Selayang, where the majority of them reside, to them. The Malaysian government's decision
in early April, 2020, to turn back boats carrying Rohingya refugees also contributed to the
increase in hate speech. The Covid-19 pandemic has led to an increase in xenophobia
against Rohingya. Recent incidents of refugee boat turn-backs and immigration raids of
undocumented migrants have become an increasing concern for them. Malaysia’s
Immigration Department runs a 24-hour hotline for the public to report undocumented
workers, and there are frequent workplace raids generated by private tips. Numerous online
petitions calling for the expulsion of Rohingya were also launched on Change.org, Avaaz and
other platforms, with some garnering thousands of signatures. While Facebook, Twitter,
Change.org and Avaaz have removed some of the content, new posts and petitions
containing hateful and discriminatory content continue to appear, the letter said. Moreover,

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due to restrictions amid the Covid-19 pandemic,
public health concerns have become an excuse
to stop saving lives at sea and to display
political muscle on immigration control.
A photo of an anti-Rohingya banner in front of a
mosque in the state of Johor which read "We
are not welcoming Rohingya... We do not need
you here” went viral. One widely reported rumor
is the fear of contracting Covid-19 through the
refugee population.
To date, the Malaysian government has done
little to stop this cascade of violent threats
against Rohingya, resulting in the refugee
community fearing even to go out to procure food and other basic supplies they need to
survive in the COVID-19 lockdown.
The online posts directed at the Rohingya in the country included discriminatory and
dehumanizing language and images, with some users threatening prominent Rohingya
activists as well as their supporters with murder and sexual violence.
Interactions With the Authorities
Malaysia is a very restrictive environment for non-governmental organizations. Few
international NGOs are able to register in Malaysia. As refugees are technically considered to
be in Malaysia illegally, they are at risk of arrest and detention by local authorities, particularly
those who are not yet registered with UNHCR. A study by IRC found that 42% reported that at
least one member of their household had been arrested in the last year, nearly all because
they did not have identity documents. The majority of refugees interviewed for this study had
personally experienced arrest and detention or altered their lifestyle and habits (such as not
leaving the house or avoiding travel beyond their neighborhood) due to fear of arrest. Middle-
aged men interviewed for the study, particularly those who worked on or travelled on foot,
motorbike or public transport, reported being frequently stopped and arrested by the police, 1
- 3 times a month. This may be due to a number of factors. Men comprise the majority of the
Rohingya refugee population in Malaysia, and may be more likely to violate laws in pursuit of
their livelihoods (such as driving a motorcycle to work without a license). Refugee men are
also often more visible to the police than women, who are more likely to stay at or near home.
Nearly all of the refugees who spoke about being stopped by the police also discussed having
to pay bribes to authorities – in effect an informal tax on their livelihoods – in order to avoid
arrest. Refugees reported paying different amounts, ranging from Ringgit (RM) 20–50 ($4.50–
11.30), and were stopped an average of 2–3 times a month, amounting to around 10% of their
salary.
Refugees’ salaries are already low when compared to the rest of the population in Kuala
Lumpur: in 2013 the monthly median salary of Malaysians in Kuala Lumpur was RM 2,095
($475); most refugees interviewed earned less than half that. The need to set aside funds for

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bribes therefore places a significant strain on their finances. Of the refugees interviewed for
this study, nearly a quarter had experienced arrest and detention; the majority had also been
deported to Thailand before making their way back to Malaysia.
Although refugees’ undocumented and ‘illegal’ status renders them particularly vulnerable to
having to pay illegal bribes to authorities, it is important to acknowledge the extent to which
corruption and bribery affect Malaysian nationals as well: according to Transparency
International, Malaysia ranks 50 out of 175 countries on the 2014 corruption perceptions
index (1 being the most corrupt); 9% of Malaysians reported paying a bribe in 2010; and 76%
of respondents in Malaysia in 2013 felt the police were corrupt or extremely corrupt.
For some women refugees, their method for dealing with the authorities was to avoid them
altogether. After having been arrested five times, and forced to pay bribes, one unregistered
refugee woman chose not to venture out of the house, even to the health clinic. Her husband
works outside, and continues to pay bribes when stopped by the authorities.
Responding to the authorities
Speaking the national language, Bahasa Malaysia, was critical to two interlinked tactics
refugees employed if they were stopped by the authorities: negotiating and invoking
sympathy. As one refugee explained: “It is harder for newcomers, they don’t speak Malay.
Dealing with authorities depends a lot on the explanation. If a refugee cannot speak Malay the
police will charge him. If he speaks Malay and can explain politely that he is a refugee, people
will take pity”. Another refugee described being stopped by the police and released without
having to pay a bribe because he showed his UN card.
Bank
One financial institution in Malaysia has allowed some registered refugees, with a
personalized letter of support from UNHCR, to open a bank account. It can, however, be
challenging (obtaining UNHCR registration and the support letter, finding a branch that agrees
to accommodate refugees, etc.), and most refugees keep their cash savings in their homes or
in community savings arrangements.
Fleeing Myanmar: the Boat Journey to Malaysia
Refugees interviewed reported being held on overcrowded boats or in camps run by
smugglers in Thailand, denied sufficient food and water, subjected to verbal and physical
abuse, kidnapped while seeking to reach Malaysia on their own, tortured, sold into slave
labour and forced to borrow large sums of money to pay smugglers. Many arrived
in Malaysia traumatized, sick and owing enormous debts to family, friends or smugglers.
Unsurprisingly, refugees expressed hatred and fear of the smugglers, while recognizing that
they were instrumental in facilitating the journey to
Malaysia. When asked what he would advise a Rohingya
person thinking of making the journey from Myanmar to
Malaysia, one refugee said: “I would advise them not to
come here. If you are still stubborn and you insist on
coming you will die on the sea. If you don’t die on the sea
you will die here – you cannot live and work well here.”
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According to another, “A lot of people will die on the sea or be killed by agents. It’s better if
you die there than come here. Also if you come here you will be in trouble. If you come here
we will need to pay to release you from the agents, and if we cannot pay you will die at his
hands. I heard of people floating on the sea, kept in the jungle, people dying, women being
raped.”
Smugglers, traffickers, kidnappers?
The UN definition of the smuggling of migrants is: ‘the procurement, in order to obtain, directly
or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit, of the illegal entry of a person into a State
Party of which the person is not a national or a permanent resident’. There is no standard
terminology to refer to the people paid by Rohingya asylum-seekers to arrange their passage
from Myanmar to Malaysia, and the lines between smuggling and trafficking are blurred. They
have been referred to at various points by refugees, media, NGOs and the UN by different
names: agents, smugglers, kidnappers and people traffickers.
Malaysia - Still Has Lack of Refugee Law and Policy
The Malaysian government does not provide direct protection or assistance to refugees on its
territory, and efforts to promote a refugee law and policy are ongoing. The UNHCR’s urban
refugee policy in Malaysia aptly describes the context for refugees, stating: Malaysia can be
considered as a ‘country of asylum’ only in a loose sense of that concept. While they are
generally not at risk of deportation, refugees in Malaysia have been and continue to be at risk
of arrest, detention, extortion and corporal punishment, although the frequency of such
incidents has diminished in recent times.
Voices - Dreams Unfulfilled
Yunus, then 22, had fled his native Myanmar. He soon found life in the teeming camps
unbearable. He saw no more of a future for himself there than in Myanmar. After 11 harrowing
days at sea, and three more evading authorities in the jungles of southern Thailand, Yunus
was smuggled into Malaysia, where he hoped to pick up where his life had so suddenly
stalled. But seven years on, he feels as though his life remains on hold. "It has been a long
seven years. Even though I have tried to improve my situation, it is not changing. It is like the
curse started in Myanmar, and everywhere is the same," said Yunus. The one-time physics
student now works long hours on constructions sites across the city and knows what it is to
break his back for days, only to be told at the end that he won't be getting paid.
Osman Goni, a Rohingya refugee who fled Myanmar in 2014, sees no future for himself in
Malaysia either. The 23-year-old electrician also has been refused his promised pay on
several occasions. He has bribed his way out of jail four times after police raids on his job
sites. "I have felt like I should finish my life, I was so desperate, just take poison and finish my
life," he said. "How can I live my life this way? It's like another prison."
Ruhul, a 30-year-old father of five, arrived in Malaysia in January 2015. He has been
seriously disabled since birth, but he is able to work with his hands. Ruhul worked as a watch
and umbrella repairer in Myanmar, but having found no market for such work in Malaysia, and
unable to find any other employment, he has resorted to begging on the street. He begs every
day, which earns him barely enough to subsist and has left him wholly unable to repay the
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debt he owes for his journey to Malaysia, or to meet his goal of sending money back to his
family in Myanmar. Police have confronted him numerous times while he was begging: as he
cannot speak Bahasa Malaysia, other Rohingya people nearby translate for the police, who
have consistently stolen the money he earned begging and threatened him with arrest.
Abdul is now in his early twenties, he has lived in Malaysia for over four years. A six-year
journey took him from Bangladesh to Thailand and briefly to Malaysia before being arrested
and imprisoned after less than a month in the country. He was deported to Thailand, where he
was kidnapped by traffickers and forced into slavery on a fishing boat. He finally escaped
after four years, and was able to contact his grandfather, who was living in Thailand at the
time. After a month he left to join his uncle in Kuala Lumpur, who convinced his employer to
give Abdul a job. Abdul began to collect used items to sell, and was able to save up enough
money to buy a motorcycle, enabling him to collect and sell a larger volume of goods.
Abdul’s story is one of (relative) success. His goals when coming to Malaysia were to find
work, save money in order to get married, have a family and be able to support them – all of
which he has done. But he still struggles with day-to-day hardships. He has had many run-ins
with the authorities, been arrested numerous times and has to pay bribes to the police
regularly, despite having a UNHCR card that proves his recognized refugee status.
Harassment is particularly frequent when he is on his motorcycle; refugees cannot legally be
issued driving licenses in Malaysia. Some police officers accept bribes, while others arrest
him. On the occasions he has been arrested, his Malaysian boss – with whom he has a good
relationship – has come to the police station to secure his release.
One elderly man, who had arrived in Malaysia two years earlier with his wife and 16-year-old
son, expressed the desperation he felt as an unregistered asylum-seeker: “I feel a lot of
tension and think of suicide. I worry if my son is stopped while outside collecting recyclables
he will be arrested because he has no documents. I am very worried about arrest and life in
Malaysia in general.” When asked how he managed that stress and tension, he replied, “My
only hope is to be registered and resettled by UNHCR. I don’t think there is anything that can
make life in Malaysia easier except being recognized as a refugee by UNHCR. We have
applied many times, and I feel very sorry because UNHCR hasn’t ever replied. Some of the
people recognized by UNHCR have not suffered as much as we have – we lost everything.
When we arrived here UNHCR neglected us.”

Rohingya Have Created Their Dilemma

It is a fallacy that all Muslims are being persecuted in Myanmar. In Myanmar, there are ethnic
Panthay Muslims of Chinese origin, Zerbedis (Indian and Burmese mix), Kaman (Persian
origins), and even Pashu Muslims of Malay origins. As well, there are Bengali Hindus. Why
are none of these various people claiming atrocities against them, and trying to flee from
Myanmar? Why are the Pashu Muslims not fleeing Myanmar for Malaysia, where they even
have historical ties? How come all the other Muslim minorities in Myanmar can live in
harmony with the majority Buddhists, EXCEPT the Rohingya?
Agreed that Rohingya have been victims of terrible acts of violence, but even more often the
Bengali Muslims (‘Rohingya’) have perpetrated even more terrible violence - the Rohingya
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should not pretend they are innocent. Rohingya have long been distrusted and disliked by
nearly anyone in their proximity. Rohingya in Myanmar have a dark history — from trying to
get their Arakan/Rakhine province carved from the new nation of Burma in 1948, to calling for
the province to be incorporated into Pakistan/Bangladesh, to their attempt to declare an
independent Islamic State.
Rohingya must know that they are being exposed, and the truth about the Rohingya terrorist
acts against Buddhists and the executions of entire villages of Hindus is coming to light. So,
the Rohingya should not play innocent.
None of the 57 OIC Muslim countries want the Rohingya. None of the western countries
would want to resettle the Rohingya. Even the world’s largest Muslim country - Indonesia -
that has 17,000 islands won’t even loan an island to Rohingya. Returning to Myanmar is
simple a pipe dream - Myanmar will never take back Rohingya. For Myanmar, it’s a blessing
the Rohingya have left, and one big never-ending burden is off their shoulder.
The Rohingya often claim they are the most persecuted people in the world, but, they still
can’t see that they, themselves, created their dilemma.

By Rick Heizman, Nov 22, 2020

Photos and Videos of Arakan at: arakan-reality.smugmug.com - go to Conflict videos

Photos and Videos of all of Myanmar at: rickheizman.smugmug.com

Papers at scribd.com/rheizman

YouTube Channel - Richard Heizman

Email: rickmusic4@gmail.com
burmafriend88@gmail.com

The BEST, most COMPREHENSIVE, and HISTORICALLY ACCURATE film about the conflict in
Rakhine State, Myanmar:
ARAKAN - ANCIENT BUDDHIST KINGDOM, ENDANGERED BY JIHAD
1/4 Parts:
https://arakan-reality.smugmug.com/ARAKAN-the-CONFLICT-VIDEOS/MY-EXCELLENT-MOVIE/i-9PF8GTp/A

2/4 Parts:
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3/4 Parts:
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4/4 Parts:
https://arakan-reality.smugmug.com/ARAKAN-the-CONFLICT-VIDEOS/MY-EXCELLENT-MOVIE/i-pbVdXqx/A