KUALA LUMPUR: As Malaysia prepares to assume the Asean chairmanship, the country should leverage this influential position to spearhead efforts to end the violence in Myanmar, said Doctors Without Borders, or Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
MSF Malaysia head of mission Lucy Lau said the crisis in Myanmar must be recognised as a regional humanitarian emergency requiring collective regional solutions.
"What MSF teams are witnessing is yet another peak in the prolonged crisis faced by the Rohingya, who have endured persecution in their own country for decades. There is an urgent need for coordinated protection and assistance across countries of asylum.
"With Malaysia taking on the Asean chairmanship in 2025, it is strategically positioned to broker solutions among Asean member states that host refugees from Myanmar and to invest in efforts to end the violence in Myanmar.
"The issue must be seen as a regional humanitarian crisis demanding regional solutions, rather than fragmented in-country 'problems' that lack a coherent response to the growing unmet needs."
On Aug 25, 2017, the Rohingya began their mass exodus from Myanmar following a wave of violence in Rakhine State, forcing more than 742,000 people to seek refuge in Bangladesh. Villages were burnt to the ground, thousands of families were killed or separated and widespread human rights violations were reported.
Lau said Malaysia could propose that Asean provide humanitarian aid to Myanmar and Bangladesh.
Bangladesh hosts nearly one million Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, making it one of the largest protracted refugee situations in the world.
In Malaysia, Lau said, the lack of legal pathways, such as access to employment, forced many into irregular opportunities to survive, leading to dire consequences, including heightened risks of exploitation.
"They are mostly working in 3D (dirty, dangerous and demeaning) jobs to survive, and due to their status, they are highly vulnerable to exploitation by employers.
"We see individuals coming to our clinic with injuries from construction sites, only to find their employers unwilling to take responsibility, for example, to avoid covering medical costs or unpaid wages."
She said the situation in Malaysia had worsened in recent years due to increased xenophobia, exacerbated by social media.
She said there had been instances of hostility towards the Rohingya from healthcare workers.
She said this hostility has led to delays in treatment and, consequently, the deterioration of their health conditions.
"Refugees and asylum seekers are charged the foreigner's fee at public healthcare facilities, which — even with the 50 per cent discount available to registered refugees — remains expensive for most, given their lack of access to formal jobs .
"The first step anyone can take
is to understand why they came to Malaysia.
"It is not necessarily for economic reasons or to seek a better future. It's a matter of survival."
She said increased immigration raids had instilled fear among the Rohingya, forcing them to stay indoors.
"In recent years, the fear of arrest has been a significant concern, especially for those without documentation. It's quite common for them not to be registered with UNCHR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) as applications from years ago are still being processed.
"There's the fear of arrest. If you're detained, you're sent to a detention centre. Typically, detainees in immigration detention centres are deported back to their home country, but for the Rohingya, who are stateless, this means they are often detained indefinitely."
Lau said MSF met a refugee who waited 10 years for their UNHCR card.
She suggested that Malaysia could begin advocating for better protection of the Rohingya, including access to healthcare, education and the right to work,
as they are unlikely to return to Myanmar and need to find ways to contribute to their host countries.
She said MSF was ready to collaborate with the government to find solutions that uphold the dignity and wellbeing of those seeking refuge from conflict and persecution.