Anifah: Malaysia not counting on Asean

PUTRAJAYA: Asean is no longer able to handle the issue of the Rohingya persecution in Myanmar, says Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman.

He said Asean had failed to address the issue efficiently so Malaysia will instead continue to raise the issue at the United Nations and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

“Within Asean, I have given up hope. We had seven meetings, and Malaysia expressed our concerns to Myanmar and they (Myanmar) promised to address the concern.

“Until today, nothing has been done. Therefore, Malaysia may raise it at other levels, like the United Nations and OIC,” he said after meeting with Brazilian Foreign Affairs Minister Aloysio Nunes at Wisma Putra yesterday. Nunes is on a three-day working visit to Malaysia.

On Tuesday, Wisma Putra summoned Myanmar Ambassador to Malaysia, U Sein Oo, to express Malaysia’s displeasure over the latest violence in Rakhine state.

In Melaka, World Assembly of Youth’s (WAY) president Datuk Seri Idris Haron slammed Myan­mar’s de facto civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi over the violence, saying she could no longer be seen as the “Mahatma Gandhi of the Millennia”.

Idris said the Nobel laureate had let the world down in defending the rights of the minority Rohingya as the community is subjected to inhumane treatment and suffering.

“She was an inspiration to us all at one point but is no longer seen as a champion of human rights,” he told a press conference.

Idris, who is also Melaka Chief Minister, said Suu Kyi had refused to sympathise with the suffering of the Rohingya.

“The Rohingya are treated cruelly and are isolated but why is a Nobel laureate not restraining the atrocities? No man should be subjected to genocide, physical attacks and bullying by the majority,” he said.