COMMENT | Rohingya issue will determine political fortunes

COMMENT | Rohingya issue will determine political fortunes

S Thayaparan

Published: Sep 21, 2026 7:00 AM



“I don't trust society to protect us; I have no intention of placing my fate in the hands of men whose only qualification is that they managed to con a block of people to vote for them.”

- Mario Puzo, The Godfather

COMMENT | The political elites in this country are busy blaming each other for who caused the Rohingya issue, which has become a major flashpoint for the Malay community, especially working-class Malays.

The fact of the matter is that the people who are vilifying the Rohingya community are the same people who voted in successive bangsa and agama politicians who used the Rohingya when convenient and are horrified by the economic insecurity they have created.


What we are dealing with is the reality that working-class Malays are in economic competition with various migrants, and this in turn has fuelled xenophobic movements born out of frustration with decades of failed government policies meant to uplift the majority community.

Instead of helping them, such policies have deepened the class conflict within the community.

Forget about political parties or personalities. This is about how the mainstream political establishment used the Rohingya issue to boost religious bona fides without thinking of the economic and social consequences of allowing foreign elements into the local ecosphere already riddled with class and ethnic tensions.

When it was convenient to use these migrants for political and religious purposes, Malay political operatives from both sides of the divide used them as examples of the “injustices” faced by the global Muslim community and as a rallying cry for local Muslim solidarity.


From victims to threats

The reason why the Rohingya are here is that successive regimes and political operatives from the opposition advocated for their place and welfare in Malaysian society.

When these “foreigners” become successful and start gaining economic relevance at the expense of the majority, they suddenly become a threat.


Working-class Malays, already handicapped by interventionist state policies, which supposedly protect their rights and privileges, have to contend with various migrant communities for a slice of the pie.

The fact that the plight of the Rohingyas is championed by the bourgeois class and looked on with scepticism or outright hostility by the working class for years was overlooked by the mainstream Malay political establishment.

Social media opprobrium for the Rohingya always includes elements of how well they are organised, and commentary revolves around the politicians and how they are somehow connected to the “problem”.

Keep in mind that refugees, migrant workers, and “illegals” do the jobs that locals do not want to do, and they only become an issue during times of economic and political uncertainty.

Most workers people think of as “illegal” merely want to make a living and send money back home, but because of the politics of the situation, there are issues involved which affect the social dynamic of locals.

Grain of truth

I know folks do not want to hear this, but if you think that we have extreme religious ideas here, you have no clue of the extreme ideas that could be (and have been) injected into the religious discourse by elements moving in migrant communities.

This idea that the Rohingya are fleeing from oppression is much more complex than the narratives of most activists and state-sponsored hacks.

As reported by Al Jazeera, there is a flourishing trade in brides - some even child brides - by Malaysian-based Rohingya men who cannot find local women to marry.

There has been no discussion or accountability of the millions of dollars of aid from Muslim countries and Western organisations for the benefit of the Rohingya community.

Neither has there been accountability for the numerous Rohingya organisations that claim to advocate for the community but have been assimilated into various Muslim advocacy groups in the country and used when needed to make a religious show of force.


Jumping on the bandwagon

Politicians of every ethnicity have attempted to gain brownie points from this issue.

MCA young women's wing chief Ivone Low got some folks’ knickers in a twist when she commented on the thug-like behaviour of “refugee children” in a series of online video clips.

In response, Pengerang MP Azalina Othman Said said children should not be blamed when “the country” failed to protect them.

The “country” did not fail to protect them. The political apparatus of this country failed to protect them, as it has failed with a great many issues.

It really does not matter if it is BN, Perikatan Nasional, or Pakatan Harapan. Each, at one time, most likely when out of government, has used refugees, especially Muslim refugees, as pawns in an effort to discredit the ruling party or attempt to show how the support of refugees translates to supporting the Malay polity.

All this is not only hypocritical but also mendacious, as both attempt to portray the situation as a religious one - when it comes to Muslim refugees - as opposed to economic or political ones.

And this has always been an economic issue. Remember the hostility then human resources minister M Kulasegaran received when he reminded the Harapan government of its campaign pledge to allow refugees to work?

I still have not forgotten when former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang had that big rally in support of the Rohingya.

Sekretariat Umat chairperson Aminuddin Yahaya, too, had urged Buddhist monks in Malaysia to state their stand on a demonstration held by their counterparts in Myanmar against Najib’s alleged interference in the Rohingya issue, and whether “killings of innocent people” also go against the teachings of Buddha.

This is one of the major economic issues dominating mainstream Malay politics. This is why there has been a sudden spurt of raids against migrants and the underground economy, which has thrived for years.

This major issue, more than Najib’s pardon, will determine which coalition forms the government; who plays the blame game better will be the deciding factor.

S THAYAPARAN is commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. Fīat jūstitia ruat cælum - “Let justice be done though the heavens fall.”