BY: NORHAYATI UMOR
SHAH ALAM, NOV 25: DAP Parliamentary Leader Lim Kit Siang condemned Myanmar’s democratic leader, Aung San Suu Kyi who remains silent on the brutalities inflicted on the Rohingya in the country.
He said that her failure to speak up for the oppressed ethnic minority is an embarrassment and an insult to the Nobel prize awarded to her.
“Even though the latest incident in Rakhine had caused hundreds killed, Suu Kyi continues to remain quiet.
“What more after her party, which carries the ‘democrat’ name, managed to win big last year against the military which had been in power for over two decades,” he said in a statement.
In the incident recorded as the worst since 2012, it was reported that about 100 Rohingya were killed while 300,000 had fled the violence.
In fact, Human Rights Watch Organisation reported satellite images showing Rohingya villages being burnt.
Kit Siang said that Suu Kyi’s government must pave the way for humanitarian aid to be channelled to those who remain trapped in the volatile area.
He said she needs to take action although she has no ability nor political will to stop the ethnic cleansing.
“Suu Kyi has been named the Nobel Peace Prize winner and was complimented as a hero for democracy especially by Westerners. Hence she cannot remain silent in the face of oppression on her citizens which has been on-going for decades.
“Suu Kyi cannot choose to continue ignoring the matter, furthermore refusing to say the word ‘Rohingya’ while choosing to refer to them as ‘Bengali’,” he said.
Kit Siang also said that Suu Kyi does not reflect the spirit of a leader who is able to bring peace to her country, let alone upholding being a Nobel laureate.
At the same time, he reminded Malaysians that the clash in Myanmar should be a lesson to show that religious and racial conflicts can bring damaging effects to societies.
“I urge Malaysians to reject racial politics that capitalises of religious extremism and supremacy of descendants in order to prevent our country from falling into violence,” he said.
