theSun | THURSDAY JUNE 18 2009 15

INTERVIEWS VIEWS

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Praise for health checks Time for a Rohingya master plan

IT IS nerve-wracking to travel these
days because of the swine flu scare.
Daily, we read reports of individuals
with the symptoms being quaran-
tined.
I recently had to travel to Pen-
ang, my hometown, to attend a
relative’s wedding. I was wary of
travelling by plane as the contagious
virus is airborne and easily spread
in enclosed spaces.
However, I was pleasantly sur-
prised and reassured when I arrived
at Subang Airport on May 29.
The terminal had health-check
counters manned by officials of-
fering flu masks to passengers.
This gave passengers a sense of
confidence that the authorities
were doing their best to limit the
outbreak.
The health officer at the terminal
asked me whether I had any symp-
toms which could be the first signs
of the Influenza A(H1N1) virus infec-
tion. She also insisted that I take the
flu mask – better safe than sorry!
I went on with my journey,
reassured that the authorities had
done their part to ensure my trip to
Penang was as safe as possible.
Lee Meng Loo
Kuala Lumpur
PRESENTLY in Malaysia there are an ac-
knowledged 8,000 people from Myanmar
who are stateless. Many have applications
pending with the United Nations Human
Rights Commission to be classified as
refugees. Their applications are still pend-
ing action, even after waiting for more
than a year. And the number is probably
three times that of the known stateless
people.
The present circumstances, given the
world and local economy, place substan-
tial burdens upon NGOs.
We have reduced personnel and
financial resources to help the Rohingyas.
We get little or no cooperation from the
government, let alone from well-meaning
but financially pressed citizens.
Only one NGO attempts to deal with
these refugees as their main issue. Others
where as political, economic, and religious
refugees. But they have been turned away
everywhere.
We cannot forget the treatment and
rejection in the last two years by our
neighbours. No one wants them.
The Rohingyas are applying now for
the most they can hope for, that is, the
United Nations’ temporary refugee status,
until other countries agree to take them
in. Indonesia is said to be considering their
application to land in Aceh temporarily.
But these and other solutions are only
temporary.
Myanmar ignores the Rohingya com-
pletely or treats them as second-class
citizens, saying they are the problem of
Bangladesh. These and other positions
are untenable.
The border defended by the United
and do not care to intervene in the tragic
deaths of so many of these “boat people”.
What would the prophet do now, seeing
the plight of this community of Muslims?
Asean’s non-interventionist policies
have not helped in this issue. This long
standing problem affects Malaysia and
other Asean countries.
The way forward, at least at this stage
here in Malaysia, is to:
» establish a cultural orientation pro-
gramme;
» set up a skills development pro-
gramme;
» establish an ombudsman to act as
their representative in the mediation
process with the UNHCR, the Immigra-
tion Department, and NGOs; and
» develop a long-term plan to integrate
them into our ummah.

Playing by our
deal with it as a part of their mandate. But
all of us have a responsibility to help the
Rohingyas.
We are all aware that after World War
II unjust borders were drawn by Western
colonial powers. And the border between
Nations clearly places these people as
a Muslim minority in the predominantly
Buddhist state of Myanmar and nowhere
else.
The regime is driving the Arakanese,
including the Rohingyas, away, forcing
By carrying out these actions, we are
indeed empowering the refugees and
not merely addressing their short-term
needs.
These people have the potential to
contribute, and desire to do so. But we

own rules
THE instructions
were to conduct a
little experiment
with the group. The
task was a simple
game with a few
basic rules. What
the group didn’t
know was that at
any time, the rules
could change at the
leader’s whim. OnPointe
After a few
by Natalie Shobana Ambrose
rounds, the subjects
began protesting
and getting angry – crying foul
that there was no order. Indeed
the lesson for the day was that
life isn’t fair – some people play
by their own rules, and couldn’t
care less about others.
I’m sure we’ve all been
brushed by it in some form and/
or have been culprits. We find it
on the playground when a bully
gets his way, or in kindergarten
when another is given special
treatment, in school when
homework is done by others, in
the office when colleagues are
rewarded for bad behaviour,
and in governments where
countries are run at the whims
and fancies of the mighty.
One culprit is North Korea.
The rule was to adhere to the Nu-
clear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Instead, they defied world pow-
ers many, many times. In 2006,
they carried out an atomic test.
In April this year they launched
a rocket and last month carried
out underground nuclear bomb
tests which are comparable to
those that destroyed Hiroshima
and Nagasaki.
On top of that North Korea
has warned of future atomic
and long-range missile tests.
No one dares call them on it
because North Korea plays by
its own rules. The powers-that-
be are close to taking the rotan
and smacking them but they
have two pawns – the American
journalists and are just about
ready to say checkmate. I’m not
sure what the hungry citizens of
North Korea think, but just the
thought of the effects of the nu-
clear tests sends shivers down
my spine.
Another culprit hails from
the African continent. After the
International Criminal Court is-
sued a warrant of arrest on the
president of Sudan (the world’s
first sitting president with a war-
rant of arrest), he retaliated by
expelling 13 foreign aid groups
from Darfur, where now 1.5
Arakan in Myanmar and south Thailand is them to become “boat people” facing the are forcing them into greater poverty and
among the most cruelly drawn. perils of robbery, drowning or starving in a life of crime which effectively produces
The Rohingya Muslims of Arakan were the open sea. Perhaps this is why no one the opposite result of being a stain upon
cut off from the Malay Muslims of south wants them — they are truly among the our communities.
Thailand, as well as the Muslims of Malay- “have nots” of this world. We in Malaysia can take the first steps
sia and Bangladesh. As were the muhajirun (Meccan towards treating the Rohingyas in a hu-
million refugees are Placed under the political authority refugees) who followed Prophet Muham- mane manner.
slowly dying. The of Myanmar, the Arakan region entered mad (saw) to establish their city-state
rule would be that he a long period of neglect and oppression. in Medina in the first years of the Hijrah Azril Mohd Amin
should stay put in his After many years of immense suffering, calendar. Then there was a prophet of God Vice-President
palace, hand himself the Rohingyas began to take small boats to teach and protect them. Muslim Youth Movement of
in and kowtow to the to the open sea in hopes of landing some- Evidently, Muslims have lost their spirit Malaysia
world powers but
instead he toured
Egypt, Saudi Arabia,
Qatar and Libya and
upped his game by
appointing a war
crimes fraternity
member as governor
of a border province.
Who are Omar al-Bashir’s
pawns? The people of Darfur,
who are voiceless and dying.
Then there is Teheran. With
all the protests going on not just
in Iran but around the world,
one has to wonder did democ-
racy die there too. On the CNN
website there is a picture of a
young woman holding a placard
which reads “What happened to
my vote?” A sentiment I gather
many Malaysians too share.
There are a lot of people
playing by their own rules right
here in Malaysia, to such an
extent that we are not allowed
to speak about it. Perhaps we are
following blindly the examples
from the rest of the world and
perhaps think that it is accept-
able because it is not as grave.
After all, America defied the
United Nations, played by their
own rules and waged war on
Iraq even when Kofi Annan said
that the war was illegal. Though
the repercussions of America’s
action were minimal within the
UN family, the American people
continue to suffer, all because
their government played by
their own rules. And the Iraqis
continue to suffer.
It’s frustrating when suddenly
the rules change and there’s no
consistency and fairness. I worry
if for some reason I was placed
in the position of needing to fight
for my rights in a Malaysian
court; would there be justice
within 24 hours or will I have
to wait weeks before my case
would be heard?
When there isn’t a level play-
ing field, there isn’t fair play. At
the end of the day, the lesson
remains that life is not fair,
people play by their own rules
and we can only hope that they
play fair.
Natalie is learning to embrace the
concept that that life is not fair
-- so just deal with it. Comment:
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