MALAYSIA has demanded that the Myanmar government resolve the Rohingya issue, said Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

The home minister said Malaysia cannot sit back and just be a witness to their sufferings.

“In Asean, the plight of the Rohingya Muslims of Rakhine state demands a fast and concrete solution before it gets out hand.

“We are not against the Myanmar government. They are a friend in Asean but they, too, must show strong determination to resolve the issue,” he said at the Khayr Ummah 2017 conference in Kuala Lumpur.

Some 620,000 Rohingya, more than half their total number, have fled from Myanmar’s Rakhine state to Bangladesh since August as a result of violence that the United Nations and the United States have described as ethnic cleansing.

Zahid also said Islam is not a religion of force as it believes in discussion and engagement.

“Terrorism has no religion and we Muslims find the conduct of Daesh and Islamic State (IS) disgraceful.

“The kidnappings in southern Philippines and the siege in Marawi City are incidents that are close to Malaysia. What happens there will affect us.”

Zahid also said no religion could fight terrorism alone.

“Together with other faiths, we move as one in combating terrorism. Bear in mind that radicalism exists in all societies, in all faiths.

“It is up to us to convince them that Islam has nothing to do with it. By putting in a lot of effort, the stigma of Islamophobia can be erased from the world,” he said.

Also present at the event was Minister of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance of Saudi Arabia Saleh Abdulaziz Muhammad Al Ash-Sheikh.

The conference was attended by the iman and khatib of the Grand Mosque of Makkah, ulama from Asean and the Arab states totalling 30 scholars and academics to share knowledge and provide input in strengthening Islam and unifying Asean in a holistic manner. – November 27, 2017.