Najib denies being a hypocrite on Rohingya issue
Former premier Najib Abdul Razak has denied that he is being hypocritical on the Rohingya issue.
In a Facebook post today, he claimed that an online news portal spinned his statement in which he backed the authorities' action to disallow two boats carrying Rohingya refugees from entering Malaysia....
Former premier Najib Abdul Razak has denied that he is being hypocritical on the Rohingya issue.
In a Facebook post today, he claimed that an online news portal had spinned his statement in which he backed the authorities' action to disallow two boats carrying Rohingya refugees from entering Malaysia.
The article said Najib (above) supported the controversial action four years after leading a rally condemning Myanmar's policies against the persecuted minority group.
"I am not a hypocrite. The BN government had tremendously assisted the Rohingya.
"Together with PAS, we rallied to urge the Myanmar government to stop the cruelty against the ethnic minority.
"We did not rally to ask all the Rohingya refugees to come to Malaysia. Know the difference?" he said.
He also noted that the NGO Amnesty International had condemned Malaysia over the recent action and how other parties have kept mum on the Rohingya issue.
"Nobody can accuse Malaysia of not doing anything or being cruel in this issue. And I also lambasted the United Nations for its lack of help and action on this matter.
"What has the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) done? What is their function?
"Is Malaysia the only country which is part of Asean and the UN? Until when does Malaysia have to carry the burden alone?"
If one boat allowed in, hundreds more may come
Najib pointed out that it's easier to make demands without thinking ahead of the implications in regard to accepting the refugees.
"We cannot accept the two boats to land on our shore as we do not want a bigger tragedy to happen.
"If they manage to land, it's possible that hundreds of boats will ensue," he said.
For the Rohingya refugees in the country, Najib advised them to respect the law and understand the people's sentiment during the Covid-19 crisis.
On April 16, two navy ships intercepted a boat ferrying 200 Rohingya near Langkawi waters.
The navy then distributed food to the foreigners before escorting their boats out of the country's waters.
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