KUALA LUMPUR: Former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has urged other countries to step up and help the Rohingya refugees.
He said Malaysia had provided asylum to numerous Rohingya refugees.
Dr Mahathir said the Rohingya refugees should be resettled in other countries to alleviate their plight.
Dr Manathir, in a Facebook post, said that though Myanmar was governed by Burmese people, it was still home to many ethnic groups.
He added that the Rohingya being citizens of Myanmar deserve rights that were never given to them.
Dr Mahathir said every ethnic group in Myanmar was living separately.
"People of every ethnicity are citizens of Myanmar and they all should have the same rights as other citizens in the country.
"Sadly, some individuals are not regarded as citizens. They are divided, with each ethnic group living in their own territory," he said.
Moreover, he said the vast majority of Burmese people were Buddhists, and that they were tolerant, but never to the Muslim community there.
Dr Mahathir said the Rohingya Muslims neither harmed other ethnic groups nor opposed the Myanmar government but the Myanmar junta had always been attacking them and their homes.
"The Myanmar junta has attacked their villages and towns, murdering people and destroying their homes. They were compelled to migrate to nearby Bangladesh."
Dr Mahathir highlighted the sufferings of the Rohingya refugees, particularly the sick and elderly as well as women and children.
He added that while Malaysians should be concerned about the genocide of the Palestinians in Gaza, they should also consider the sufferings of the Rohingya refugees.
"We appeal to the Myanmar junta to allow the Rohingya refugees to return to their villages in Myanmar."