I am writing to once again to highlight before the bar of global public opinion and to bring to the attention of the international community the horrible situation and the horrendous plight being suffered by the Rohingya people.

In doing so, I am taking the cudgel not only for their behalf, but for all refugees, stateless and dispossessed people of this heartless and utterly perverted world.

Needless to state, the peoples of Aleppo, Palestine, Yemen, and other gravely and similarly situated are included in this defense of mine and short exposition.

It is on this very reason that I applaud the noble and extremely humanistic act about to be done (they intend to send a flotilla of supplies to the Rohingya) and continuously being carried out by the various Malaysian non-governmental organisations and different cause-oriented groups.

In the same vein, I would very much like to commend the individual Malaysians who not merely supported this cause, but also contributed time, effort and resources in their own special way in order to register a bold and categorical point - and that is to show their sympathy and forge solidarity with the Rohingya people.

With reference to the article of Bernard Goh, “Malaysia, a place of refuge for displaced people”, The Star, Dec 28th, let me say that though I overwhelmingly subscribe to the general voice and tenor of his thesis; with all due respect, I would like to state for purposes of the record and in an unhesitatingly manner my specific disagreements.

First: I respectfully disagree that the 1951 Refugee Convention is outdated. It is my objective and considered view and so hold that the said international convention is not only still valid to the present, but undeniably much relevant - more than ever, given the sorry and horrendous state of statelessness and displacement of different minority groups and persecuted people in the world - in the present world order.

If ever the said convention is lacking in some element or necessary mechanism, then the only thing necessary to be done is simply to amend the provision(s) of the same in the end result to further strengthen and “sharpen its teeth”, so to speak.

The law is still good, reliable and valuable which is practically the moral and legal basis why the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is in existence. Said intentional body derives and draw life blood from the said law.

Second: In order for our Malaysia to be fully consistent in its stand, both in words and deeds; then the right thing to do for our country (specifically Wisma Putra) is to sign and/or ratify the said convention.

Why?

It is because, besides the question of consistency and technically, the very act of signing the said international statute will give Malaysia the globally necessary needed legal personality and the juridical-given moral mandate and standing not only to actively take up and pursue the relentlessly the Rohingyan cause (including, to reiterate, the other people in a similar grave condition and utterly horrible situation, such as our dearest beloved poor Palestinians, etc), but simultaneously invoke and call for the empowerment, amendment and correspondingly, strengthening the said law’s execution, observance and swift implementation.

The reader may say that my arguments hinged and/or anchored on the law, it may be so, but it is utterly pertinent, material and equally important to state, not merely to highlight the indisputable fact that we can use, utilise and consequently maximise the humanist power of the law in order to advance not only our moral stand and philosophy, but also to reveal, most importantly to the whole world, our ethical views and beliefs... for humanity.

Happy New Year to all.

#FORHUMANITY.

JOSE MARIO DOLOR DE VEGA is philosophy lecturer, Polytechnic University of the Philippines and Unibersidad de Manila.