KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is exploring the possibility of working with other countries to help Rohingya Muslims displaced by conflict in Myanmar’s Rakhine sate.
Armed Forces chief General Tan Sri Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor said he is currently looking at all options available to assist the persecuted Rohingya community.
"I have been instructed by Defence Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein to come up with a plan, and am now studying all (possible means of helping) them.
“We are looking forward to working closely with other countries’ militaries, particularly near the (conflict area in Rakhine state),” he said when contacted today.
Affandi, however, declined to elaborate further.
On Thursday, Hishammuddin told a press conference that he had instructed Affandi to devise a plan to aid Myanmar’s persecuted Rohingya, including the tens of thousands who have fled to Bangladesh.
He was speaking to reporters after sending off the first batch of the Malaysian Battalion (Malbatt) 850-5. Malbatt 850-5 will serve with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) for a year, replacing Malbatt 850-4.
Hishammuddin said the plan is needed not only for humanitarian reasons, but also for national security, as militant groups such as the Islamic State (IS), which has plans to gain a foothold in the region, could exploit the crisis by recruiting members of the oppressed Rohingya community.
Myanmar’s security forces have launched “clearance operations” on Rohingya villages, following attacks on more than 30 security posts by an armed group known as the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army on Aug 25.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), an estimated 164,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh since violence erupted in Rakhine.