Last month, more than 400,000 people signed a petition on Change.org calling for the removal of Rohingya refugees from Malaysia. The petition is part of a widening hate campaign targeting Rohingya refugees and others, fed by fabricated allegations of criminality and dangerous misinformation about an already vulnerable community.
Malaysia has long been a refuge for various communities from Myanmar, including the Rohingya, Chin, Bamar, Karen, Rakhine and other ethnicities. No refugee community should be subjected to hostility or abuse, and the recent targeting of Rohingya refugees reflects a broader failure to protect people fleeing violence and persecution in Malaysia. The Rohingya, who have fled decades of genocide at the hands of the Myanmar military and renewed violence in Rakhine State by the Arakan Army, have been singled out for intense xenophobic hostility by the Malaysian public and some officials.
People are entitled to express concerns about public policy on migration and refugees. But freedom of expression is not a license to incite discrimination, hatred, or violence.
The danger is greater when prominent public figures lend legitimacy to this hateful rhetoric, calling Rohingya a “cancer,” “dirty” “threats or criminals,” and “intruders.” This is despite the fact that only 89 Rohingya have been convicted for criminal offences since 2024, according to the latest government statistics, making up a tiny 0.02 percent of all criminal cases in Malaysia during that time.
