Only 89 Rohingya individuals involved in crime since 2024, says IGP as online sentiment intensifies

Only 89 Rohingya individuals involved in crime since 2024, says IGP as online sentiment intensifies

Only 89 members of the Rohingya community have been involved in criminal activities since 2024 until June this year, Inspector-General of Police Tan Sri Mohd Khalid Ismail said, amid growing hostility and scrutiny directed at the refugee group.

According to the country’s top cop, the figure represents just 0.02% of Malaysia’s overall crime rate.

He urged the public not to be swayed by speculation or inflammatory rhetoric targeting the Rohingya community, stressing that there were also positive aspects that deserved recognition.

“Their involvement in crime accounts for just 0.02 per cent of total criminal offences.

“I am concerned that certain quarters may take advantage of the situation to make negative remarks, when there are also positive aspects that can be shared and acknowledged,” he was reported as saying by New Straits Times.

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Khalid warned that irresponsible comments and speculation online could fuel unnecessary racial tensions and threaten public order.

“I hope we can lower the temperature on this issue so that we can maintain a more peaceful and harmonious environment while facing the challenges before us.

“The public must understand the actual situation, and I urge everyone to refrain from making statements that could jeopardise security and public order.”

He added that joint patrols involving the Royal Malaysian Police, Royal Malaysian Navy and Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency are continuously being carried out to safeguard the country’s waters.

Malaysia had previously cooperated with other countries to resettle refugees, with between 7,000 and 8,000 individuals relocated to third countries annually.

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However, he noted that some countries that had earlier agreed to accept refugees had since stopped doing so, resulting in Malaysia housing a sizeable Rohingya population.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there were 215,600 registered refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia as of February.

Of that number, 193,824 were from Myanmar, including approximately 126,144 Rohingya, alongside members of other ethnic groups who had fled conflict and persecution