Experts: Xenophobia against Rohingya weaponised for political gain in Malaysia

Profit-driven algorithms represent a real threat to Malaysia’s refugees, said humanitarian observers who expect the online aggression to intensify as the general election approaches.

The observers caution that political opportunism is targeting undocumented Rohingya who are uniquely vulnerable to the manufactured social media outrage.

The escalation of anti-refugee rhetoric serves a calculated domestic purpose as Malaysia approaches the 16th general election, said Universiti Malaya’s human rights researcher Khoo Ying Hooi.

She believes that refugees have become politically convenient targets as political parties compete to demonstrate their nationalist credentials.

Recent government policy moves, such as repatriation arrangements with Myanmar, must also be understood within this electoral context, she said.

“However, we should distinguish between a deliberate electoral strategy and politicians responding opportunistically to existing public hostility. Both can reinforce each other,” she said.

Khoo pointed out that refugees are somehow portrayed as responsible for cost-of-living pressures, stagnant wages and economic insecurity.

But the issues are rooted in structural economic weaknesses and policy failures, said the associate professor of international relations and human rights.

“Politically, directing public frustration towards a vulnerable population is easier than confronting difficult questions about wages, inequality and governance.

“Refugees have very little political power and almost no institutional means to defend themselves,” she said.

Weaponised xenophobia

Khoo believes that the economic grievances and national identity were being politically mobilised, similar to the weaponisation of xenophobia in Western democracies.

“But then, Malaysia operates within a different political and historical context, particularly concerning ethnicity and religion.

“Nevertheless, the political mechanism can be quite similar; for instance, anxieties about economic and social change are channelled into hostility towards outsiders, often through emotionally charged and misleading narratives,” said Khoo.

She cited the online posts accusing refugees of stealing formal local jobs, monopolising public healthcare, and driving up national crime rates.

Khoo explained that these claims are routinely generalised without statistical evidence, noting that isolated criminal disputes are weaponised on social media to frame an entire ethnic group as a societal threat.

She gave example of how the claims ignored foundational legal facts when it accuses refugees as an economic threat and stealing formal jobs from locals.

"This claim fundamentally overlooks Malaysia's legal framework. Refugees are not granted the legal right to formal employment, and UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) registration does not provide a work permit.

“Consequently, many survive through informal employment, often under exploitative conditions and without adequate labour protection."

Non-citizens are also excluded from social safety net transfers, face restricted access to public services, education and pay significantly higher fees at government medical facilities, she said.

Khoo added that this is the dynamic that harms local Malaysian workers while falsely blaming refugees.

Digital outrage machine

North South Initiative executive director Adrian Pereira believes that this toxic online environment stands in contrast to the realities of everyday Malaysian life.

In the real world, citizens frequently display personal kindness toward displaced families, but social media algorithms are engineered to pick up and amplify hate rather than solidarity, he said.

Adrian observed that since the pandemic, online xenophobia has undergone a clear shift in targets.

"In general, we see both Malaysians who are very, very kind to migrants and refugees, but also a lot of hate and xenophobia. What the social media algorithm picks up is mostly the hate,” he said.

In June, Suhakam had to calm the public from the proliferation of a fabricated social media post which ignited a national digital firestorm across Malaysia.

The post made an alarming claim that Rohingya refugee leaders had formally demanded Malaysian citizenship, land rights, and equal bumiputera status.

The post with altered images and fake quotes has spread rapidly across online platforms. It was presented as evidence of an existential demographic threat to the nation.

Prominent media influencers and political VIPs were also quick to amplify the unvetted post, transforming a baseless piece of fake news into an explosive national panic.

At the same time, the term “Roro” emerged online as a slur against the Rohingya. It became a dehumanising shorthand designed to demean, target, and mark members of the ethnic group.

It is believed that “Roro” was coined to bypass platform content moderation and censorship, and has now trickled into local podcast circuits and into broader political commentary.

Manufactured panic, real-world vigilantism

A simple search with this keyword on a popular social media platform would return many anti-refugee rhetoric targeting Rohingya individuals and community advocates.

This hostility has escalated from digital space into real-world intimidation. Social media posts now document vigilante groups conducting targeted hunts to locate and confront Rohingya refugees.

The encounters were broadcast to weaponise online outrage and signal government inaction.

Commenting on this further, Adrian rejects the claim that public tension is an organic reaction to the high refugee concentrations in visible urban enclaves.

“This targeting of Rohingya refugees is manufactured. It's manufactured by people who want to use it for both local and international political attacks on the country.

“So it's very manufactured; it's not natural and not because of (high refugee concentrations),” he said.

Rohingya singled out

Adrian noted that other non-citizen communities, such as African nationals, non-Rohingya Myanmar refugees, or historical Aceh settlements, also reside in concentrated urban areas.

These groups did not face equivalent, highly organised media attacks, said Adrian, who also refuted claims that public hostility stems from aggressive activism by Rohingya leaders.

“I don't think so. I've almost never heard of or seen any Rohingya activist making demands.

“I think there was fake news that may have triggered all of this, and that fake news was shared by a few VIPs and media influencers.

“So, it's nothing to do with statements made by any Rohingya leaders. This would have happened with or without them, and I've not heard any demands.

“Maybe I've seen one or two general statements, but very harmless, which many other groups have issued,” he said.

Adrian believes the Rohingya are singled out because of their statelessness, distinct physical traits, and forced reliance on human smuggling routes due to systemic apartheid in Myanmar.

“Many Malaysians don't know in what way or in what context the Rohingyas are persecuted and oppressed in their own unique way compared to other vulnerable communities.

“There's always a comparison with Palestinians or other refugees. So the comments are like, ‘oh, why don't you stay back and fight?' But you know they are fighting a junta that has a very notorious record.

“And you know they don't have citizenship. No citizenship means no passport. No passport means you can't travel to Malaysia through official channels,” he explained.

Unable to assimilate

The intensity of public hostility, however, does not fall equally across all displaced populations in Malaysia, and this reveals a distinct hierarchy of displacement.

According to Zuhri Yuhyi, a prominent Uyghur activist, populations such as Palestinians and Uyghurs generally experience far less public vitriol than the undocumented Rohingya.

Zuhri explained that Palestinians and Uyghurs frequently enter Malaysia through formal institutional channels, such as university student visas or professional skilled passes.

This grants them educational standing and social legitimacy, compared to the Rohingya who are unable to adopt quiet assimilation strategies, he said.

Zuhri explains that while Uyghur advocates previously organised vocal public demonstrations, they have since adopted a subdued strategy.

“The Uyghurs now prefer to live quietly and establish local business partnerships with Malaysians to navigate domestic political sensitivities,” he said.

The Rohingya's stateless status, lack of official identity documents or passports, and forced reliance on informal labour leave them visible and unprotected, he said.

The writer is a Malaysiakini contributor.

Govt mulls movement restrictions on Rohingya refugees

PAS MP wants Rohingya settlement modelled on 1978 Vietnamese refugee camp

No Rohingya among 1,476 repatriated to Myanmar, says PM

COMMENT | Rohingya issue will determine political fortunes