Immigrants will eventually gobble us up, says Rais Yatim

(FMT) – A tweet by PPBM leader Rais Yatim has raised the hackles after he equated the impact of the large number of Rohingya refugees in Malaysia with those brought in during the British era in the early 1900s.

The Negeri Sembilan party chief said when the Rohingya were small in number, they were docile.

“When their number swelled to hundreds of thousands, they gobbled us up (dibahamnya kita),” he wrote in his tweet.

“Other races who came in during the British era in the 1920s were the same in the end,” added the former culture, arts and heritage minister.

Rais said everyone should learn from history as “there are a lot who support people from outside”.

The Chinese and Indians were brought in by the British to work in tin mines, rubber estates and the police force.

FMT is awaiting a response from Rais for a further explanation on his tweet.

For the past two weeks, there has been an increase in xenophobic comments against the Rohingya, after fake news claiming they were asking for equal rights and citizenship.

Many religious leaders and human rights activists have raised concerns over comments made based on such fake news.

Senior Minister (Security) Ismail Sabri Yaakob had also commented on the many reports and videos on social media on the Rohingya, aimed seemingly at provoking public anger at them

Ismail said the Rohingya had lived for a long time here, with the Malaysian government hosting them on humanitarian grounds.

Rais’ tweet has received negative reactions from citizens.

One user, khairullllll, said it was frustrating to see such comments as criminals can be of any race or colour.

There are about 200,000 Rohingya in Malaysia. Many are forced to work illegally or beg for a living.