Govt decision on Rohingyas lauded
Beh Lih YiPublished: Apr 11, 2005 9:33 AM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 10:21 AM
The government has been commended for its decision to officially absorb the remaining Burmese Rohingya Muslims here into the local workforce and provide their children with education.
The government has been commended for its decision to officially absorb the remaining Burmese Rohingya Muslims here into the local workforce and provide their children with education.
On the same note, concerned groups are calling for the implementation of this plan to be expedited.
The 12,000-strong Bar Council pointed out the latest move is in line with international humanitarian principles and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
"It now remains for the government to expeditiously implement these measures and put an end to the daily suffering of the Rohingyas as early as possible," said chairperson Yeo Yang Poh in a statement released yesterday.
He said that, in the interim, the government must ensure that the Rohingyas - while waiting for their identification documents (IDs) to be issued - are not harassed, arrested or detained by the police or the immigration department for being illegal migrants.
Government officials said the decision to recognise Rohingyas as refugees became a policy in November 2003 but to date, they have not been issued identity cards and the authorities continue to act against them.
Scrap whipping
Yeo also urged the government to make similar progress in other areas connected with the treatment of illegal migrants. For a start, it called for immediate revocation of imposition of whipping of those caught.
He said whipping is a cruel and barbaric form of punishment and argued that there is no justification for the government to administer such punishment with the only offence being absence of proper status.
"Even though our laws deny them legal status, let us not take away their human dignity. Let their dignity not be violently torn apart, as it is when their naked skin splits open in indescribable agony," he added.
A leader of the Rohingya community in Malaysia also applauded the government's decision to recognise and assist the group.
"That decision would be wonderful because we have been sidelined for many years," said Sawmee Ullah of the Rohingya Information Centre when contacted.
He said his group would like to see the implementation details being announced soon but said he believed that the process would be time-consuming.
"We can't ask for something from the Malaysian government because we have no rights here. Malaysia is not even a signatory to the Geneva convention (1951 UN Refugee Convention), we can only appeal to the government," he said.
Sawmee said the people in his community would face harassment from the authorities until they are issued with identity cards.
According to statistics collected by his group, nearly 100 Rohingyas have been arrested since the government's massive crackdown on illegal immigrants from last month.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has estimated that there are about 10,000 Rohingyas in Malaysia. The Rohingyas, who hail from Burma's Arakan state, fear persecution by the military leadership if they return to their homeland.
On the same note, concerned groups are calling for the implementation of this plan to be expedited.
The 12,000-strong Bar Council pointed out the latest move is in line with international humanitarian principles and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. "It now remains for the government to expeditiously implement these measures and put an end to the daily suffering of the Rohingyas as early as possible," said chairperson Yeo Yang Poh in a statement released yesterday.
He said that, in the interim, the government must ensure that the Rohingyas - while waiting for their identification documents (IDs) to be issued - are not harassed, arrested or detained by the police or the immigration department for being illegal migrants.
Government officials said the decision to recognise Rohingyas as refugees became a policy in November 2003 but to date, they have not been issued identity cards and the authorities continue to act against them.
Scrap whipping
Yeo also urged the government to make similar progress in other areas connected with the treatment of illegal migrants. For a start, it called for immediate revocation of imposition of whipping of those caught.
He said whipping is a cruel and barbaric form of punishment and argued that there is no justification for the government to administer such punishment with the only offence being absence of proper status.
"Even though our laws deny them legal status, let us not take away their human dignity. Let their dignity not be violently torn apart, as it is when their naked skin splits open in indescribable agony," he added.
A leader of the Rohingya community in Malaysia also applauded the government's decision to recognise and assist the group.
"That decision would be wonderful because we have been sidelined for many years," said Sawmee Ullah of the Rohingya Information Centre when contacted. He said his group would like to see the implementation details being announced soon but said he believed that the process would be time-consuming.
"We can't ask for something from the Malaysian government because we have no rights here. Malaysia is not even a signatory to the Geneva convention (1951 UN Refugee Convention), we can only appeal to the government," he said.
Sawmee said the people in his community would face harassment from the authorities until they are issued with identity cards.
According to statistics collected by his group, nearly 100 Rohingyas have been arrested since the government's massive crackdown on illegal immigrants from last month.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has estimated that there are about 10,000 Rohingyas in Malaysia. The Rohingyas, who hail from Burma's Arakan state, fear persecution by the military leadership if they return to their homeland.
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