DEAR Dr Mahathir Mohamad,

I represent the community of the registered Rohingya refugees living in Malaysia for a long time – some of us for decades. Most of us were registered as refugees in Bangladesh, Thailand, India, Indonesia and others countries. We are one of the most forgotten people in the world.

Compared with other countries, Malaysia was supportive of us in a humanitarian sense. And we were very excited with you winning the election and becoming the prime minister of the new Malaysia.

The Rohingya saw you at many conferences talking about our plight. Today, keeping in mind the broader perspective of the 1951 Refugee Convention, we are writing to you with regard to the issues we face both in Myanmar and Malaysia.

Since October 2016, Myanmar government forces again have been exerting violence and wreaking havoc on the lives of innocent Rohingya.

The Myanmar military is involved in mass killing, sexual harassment and rape of women, including those of a young age, physical abuse, setting Rohingya houses on fire, looting and arbitrary detention.

Although the Rohingya are indigenous to Arakan (renamed Rakhine State in the western part of Myanmar), more than 10 million have left Myanmar and taken refuge in Bangladesh, with no access to any human rights.

The silent persecution is expanding every day in Arakan state, some media and eyewitnesses try to share this genocide to the outside world, but there are more atrocities and crimes against humanity than anyone could tell.

The situation in our homeland is worsening daily, despite the so-called attempts to resolve the matter.

In total, it has been several decades that Rohingya are chased out of Arakan state and live scattered around the region, mostly Bangladesh and Malaysia.

Unfortunately, we are denied the right to work or to have security of our life and property. Our problems are also not easily resolved by sending condemning messages or condolences to the community or even to the authorities.

The Myanmar government does not care either about international law or institutions, like the United Nations, Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, or single members of the international community, hence it keeps breaking the law and infringing on human rights.

At this point, we would like to express concern about several matters that have been ongoing with regard to the Rohingya community.

We would like to recall Pakatan Harapan’s statements made during the election campaign, where the coalition promised to ratify the 1951 Refugee Convention and legitimise the status of refugees and protect their rights in accordance with international standards.

PH also committed itself to addressing the Rohingya crisis and the issue of transnational human trafficking. As refugees, we were encouraged by the PH’s promises and that our life has a chance for significant improvement. Are these plans going to be implemented and if so, when?

We are also concerned about the ongoing raids on refugees, when the last possessions and money taken away by police officers.

The Rohingya are not illegal migrants in this country, they are not here with an intention to inflict harm or steal jobs of the locals. We are one of the most vulnerable groups in our society, yet we have been deprived of protection or care.

Without access to the legal status, safe and lawful employment and formal education, we keep facing arbitrary arrest and detention, exploitation and abuse, and that is why we keep running away.

In the past, Malaysia has not made any significant effort in recognising refugees’ legal status. The previous government adopted some policies in favour of certain groups of refugees without a clear road map for the future, assuming it has a role of only a temporary host.

We Rohingya hope to appeal to the best in your government, to stand up with us and other oppressed people, and cease the anti-refugee raids, as well as to fulfil your pre-election promises on the 1951 Refugee Convention and to ratify it immediately.

We encourage Malaysia to be vocal about the issues concerning Rohingya within Asean because it concerns the whole Southeast Asian and not only a couple of countries, whether responsible for genocide or tackling the influx of refugees. – September 9, 2018.

* Ziaur Rahman is a Rohingya activist based in Malaysia. This open letter is on behalf of the Rohingya refugees registered with UNHCR and victims of genocide in Myanmar.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.