The Rohingya community in Malaysia has sent a clear message to ASEAN to include a regional refugee protection policy and mechanism as part of the ASEAN Vision 2045 at the Regional Consultation to Strengthen the Advocacy for Rohingya: Strategies and Regional Collaboration that was organized in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia recently.

This Consultation was jointly organized by Beyond Borders Malaysia, Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR), Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APPRN) and ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) and attended by more than 50 participants from civil society organisations working on refugee rights and Rohingya community in Malaysia.

“We also want Malaysia as the Chair of ASEAN in 2025 to engage directly with the Rohingya youth and victims, vulnerable, and marginalized groups in developing Chair’s policies and priorities”, said Kusheda Begom Hasan Sharif, Rohingya community leader in Malaysia.

Hafsar Tameesuddin, Co-Secretary-General of APPRN said, “It is important for the ASEAN Chair’s Special Envoy on Myanmar to coordinate closely with the UN Special Envoy on Myanmar, and the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) to ensure coherence in measures, approaches and analysis of the situation”.

Contributing to the changing of the narrative of refugees; bringing the concerns of the Rohingya refugees; and hosting a regular public hearing on Rohingya are some of the recommendations from the Consultation that were addressed to the parliamentarians from Southeast Asia.

Receiving the recommendations from the Rohingya community, Mercy Chriesty Barends, the APHR Chairperson and member of the Indonesian House of Representatives said, “I am very proud and humbled to receive the recommendations from the Rohingya community. APHR has been putting Myanmar at the heart of its advocacy for more than 20 years and remains in solidarity with Rohingya refugees. I support the suggestion from the Rohingya community to include refugees in the ASEAN vocabulary and its deliberations”. 

“We are very concerned that years after the expulsion of the majority of the Rohingya population from Myanmar, Rohingya are still not being adequately informed or engaged on issues of vital importance to their lives and futures. Their voices have been virtually absent from all platforms where decisions about them were made, including on the repatriation plan from Bangladesh or relocation within the country”, said Indria Fernida, a Regional Program Manager of AJAR.

“This Consultation, therefore, becomes crucial to honor the aspirations and concerns of the Rohingya, at least those who are in Malaysia right now. We want Rohingya to know that their voices and concerns matter”, explained Mahi Ramakrishnan, President of Beyond Borders Malaysia.