LAST year on April 21, 2020, my husband Zafar Ahmad Abdul Ghani – who is the president of the Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organisation Malaysia (MERHROM) – was falsely accused of demanding Malaysian citizenship and equal rights for Rohingya on social media platforms.
Apart from these accusations, my husband was also accused of insulting Malays, breaking the movement control order (MCO), and questioning the Malaysian government for rejecting the Rohingya boat people.
As a result of false accusations, we received tremendous death threats; threats of physical violence and kidnapping against our children; and harassment, humiliation, and insults through various ways – including personal calls to my husband, WhatsApp messages, email, SMS, and through social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, blogs, etc – where a large amount of netizens are calling for the killing of and violent attacks on my husband, as well as for the Malaysian government to expel my husband, myself, my children, and the Rohingya.
In fear of our safety, on April 23, 2020, my husband issued an urgent press statement and lodged a police report to deny all accusations. However, it was ignored, and netizens continue to threaten us until today.
I witnessed a massive spread of false accusations against my husband in various social media platforms, which have quickly turned into a hate campaign against both my husband and the Rohingya. I wonder how it was done so fast.
We were extremely shocked and traumatised when suddenly online petitions were launched on social media platforms such as Change.org and AVAAZ.org urging the Malaysian government to expel my husband. Surprisingly, this was done without any single verification with my husband.
We are puzzled how various local organisations and Rohingya groups issued immediate press statements and open letters urging the Malaysian government to take stern action against my husband. Again, this was done without any single verification with my husband.
It is very clear that the online petitions, open letters, and various press statements issued against my husband are biased and contain false and misleading information that is provocative and seditious; they are personal attacks made with malicious intentions against my husband, which has caused increasing threats and total damage to my husband, my children, and I.
I regret that netizens are not sensitive at all to the feeling of the family members – particularly my children and I, and especially in the month of Ramadan. Netizens just accept whatever appears on social media without thinking and analysing. Netizens just spread false accusations against my husband – and after that, they go on with their lives happily and peacefully.
But they forget what they have done to our lives. They forget how we suffered until now. The false accusations against my husband have damaged our lives tremendously.
I must emphasise that:
1. My husband never demanded citizenship and equal rights, never insulted Malays, never broke the MCO nor questioned the Malaysian government for rejecting the Rohingya boat;
2. I cannot give any protection to my husband, as I myself am being threatened, and am living in fear and trauma;
3. Until now, we do not know the result of investigations by the Royal Malaysia Police (PDRM) and the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC);
4. My husband is a mandate refugee, and therefore it is an obligation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to protect his safety and well-being – but the UNHCR rejected his application for protection and resettlement on November 3, 2020;
5. My husband has been a human rights defender for the past 23 years working on the protection of refugees and asylum seekers, and combating human trafficking involving the Rohingya – and therefore, it is an obligation of the UNHCR and the state to protect him when his life is at risk;
6. We can no longer live normally as before. These false accusations against my husband have destroyed our family dynamics, where my husband is suffering from depression, which forces me to be the caretaker of the family, as well as affecting our access to livelihood, health, education, safety and protection; and,
7. We no longer can cope with the current conditions where false accusations against my husband is affecting our physical health, mental health, and well-being with regards to our work as human rights defenders.
Therefore, we call upon the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) to:
1. Urgently secure a meeting with the UNHCR to raise human rights violations faced by Zafar and his family members, and discuss Zafar’s protection, treatment, and resettlement;
2. Make referrals and recommendations on Zafar’s case to the relevant agencies for his protection and to find durable solutions, such as to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the UNHCR headquarters in Geneva, as well as resettlement countries;
3. Investigate thoroughly the false accusations against Zafar, and publish the outcomes for further actions to ensure urgent protection, justice, and accountability;
4. Follow-up with relevant government agencies – particularly with PDRM and MCMC – on the results of their investigations and to initiate action to be taken against the perpetrators;
5. Thoroughly study the impact of these false accusations on Zafar, his family members, Rohingya refugees, asylum seekers, refugees, and migrants for further referrals and interventions;
6. Continuously monitor the threats against Zafar and his family members, as well as against the Rohingya in social media platforms;
7. Continuously observe and monitor the spread of false accusations, provocation, xenophobia, and hate speech in social media platforms – including other media – for further referrals and interventions;
8. Discuss with the Women, Family, and Community Development Ministry on the human rights violations faced by Zafar and his family members for further interventions;
9. Use Zafar’s case as a test case to advocate for laws against false accusation and hate speech in light of the severe implications to the affected person(s), their family members, their community, and the state;
10. Conduct consultations with various stakeholders to set up stringent rules and regulations for social media users/platforms – including other media – to combat false accusations, xenophobia, and hate speech which is damaging to the affected person(s), their family members, the community, and the state;
11. Make recommendations to the relevant agencies regarding Zafar’s urgent need for protection, including for his family members; and,
12. Continuous advocacy and interventions to combat human trafficking and prosecute the traffickers.
Thank you. – The Vibes, May 11, 2021
Maslina Abu Hassan is the wife of Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organisation Malaysia (MERHROM) president Zafar Ahmad Abdul Ghani. MERHROM is an NGO dedicated to Rohingya issues in Malaysia, focusing on advocacy, rights protection, public awareness, community development, health, education, family related issues and issues related to Islamic faith
* This press statement was delivered to the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) yesterday
