Nobel laureate and Chief Adviser Muhammad Yunus said Bangladesh is looking to Malaysia’s leadership and influence in the Muslim world to help find solutions to the Rohingya crisis
The chief adviser announced that three international conferences on the Rohingya issue will be held in the coming months to work toward a sustainable solution.
Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus has said that Malaysia’s experience in sheltering Rohingya refugees, combined with its leadership role in ASEAN, could play a crucial part in driving a comprehensive regional solution to the protracted refugee crisis.
“We hope Malaysia will use its influence in the negotiations to help us resolve this problem,” he told the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) in an exclusive interview ahead of concluding his official visit to Malaysia.
Yunus cautioned that the crisis has worsened due to ongoing clashes in Myanmar’s Rakhine state between the Arakan Army and government forces, triggering fresh waves of Rohingya fleeing into Bangladesh.
“In the past 18 months alone, 150,000 new Rohingyas have arrived, adding to the 1.2 million already in Bangladesh. The situation is becoming increasingly dire. To make matters worse, the US has cut off all funding for their upkeep, creating a huge challenge for us,” he said.
The chief adviser revealed that three international conferences on the Rohingya issue will be organized in the coming months in pursuit of a sustainable solution.
The first will be held in Cox’s Bazar later this month, coinciding with the eighth anniversary of Bangladesh assuming responsibility for hosting Rohingya fleeing persecution. The second high-level meeting will take place on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in September, while the third is scheduled in Doha at the end of the year.
Efforts at repatriation have seen little progress, further hampered by Myanmar’s ongoing armed conflict since 2021.
The prolonged humanitarian crisis continues to weigh heavily not only on Bangladesh but also on ASEAN members such as Malaysia, Thailand, and Indonesia.
Although Malaysia is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol, it currently hosts nearly 150,000 Rohingya refugees on humanitarian grounds.
The crisis originated in 2017 following a military crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine State, which forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh.
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