KUALA LUMPUR: Some 100 Rohingya people staged a peaceful rally in front of the Myanmar Embassy here today urging the government of the nation to put an end to the crisis in the Rakhine state.
The rally, which began about 2.47pm, was led by Malaysian non-governmental organisations chairman Datuk Seri Jamal Md Yunos.
Despite the drizzle, they walked from Jalan Gerbang Ampang Hilir to the embassy while chanting "Hidup Rohingya, Hidup Islam, Hidup Melayu" (Long live Rohingya, Long live Islam, Long live Malays).
Some were even seen crying as they chanted the words.
Police however had cordoned the area, blocking the demonstrators from entering the embassy.
Jamal, who was clad in red shirt, together with several other members of the NGO, were later allowed by the police to enter the embassy area.
He then handed over a memorandum of protest to one of the official representatives of the embassy, outside the building.
In the memorandum, Jamal told the reporters that the NGO called on the Myanmar government to take swift action to stop the ongoing violence against the Rohingya in the Rakhine state.
"We urged them to stop with the escalating violence against the Rohingya people as it is an inhumane act.
"Myanmar have to stop what they did to the the minorities.
"If there is still no action taken to adddress the issue, we urged them to close down the embassy. We will also take this matter to the United Nations, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the Malaysia government," he said.
The one-hour rally ended with the "Al-Fatihah" recital.
Meanwhile, Wangsa Maju district police chief Superintendent Mohamad Roy Suhaimi when met outside the building said the situation was under control.
"We were informed about the rally through the news yesterday and we sent about 60 policemen to monitor the area.
"So far it is under control and everyone adhere to our order," he said.
Earlier today, Umno Youth submitted a memorandum of demands to the United Nations (UN), urging the organisation to put an end to the ongoing violence in the state.
The crisis in Rakhine, Myanmar peaked on Aug 25 after an attack on dozens of police posts by Rohingya insurgents.
The clashes and a major military counter-offensive ensuing from the incident has killed at least 400 people while hundreds of houses were also burned.