In Malaysia, wave of hate speech threatens Rohingya refugees

Malaysia has long been considered a safe haven for Rohingya Muslims fleeing persecution in predominantly Buddhist Myanmar. As of the end of February 2026, 126,000 Rohingyas were registered with the UN refugee agency in Malaysia, out of a total of around 215,600 refugees and asylum seekers. However, they have faced growing hostility since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, culminating in a wave of online hate and disinformation that began in April 2026. On July 27, around 1 hundred Rohingya refugees were forced to leave their homes in a fishing village after their neighbours put up signs urging them to leave. #SaveMalaysiaFromRohingya Maryam* works for the NGO Article 19, which defends freedom of expression in Malaysia and combats hate speech. "The latest wave of anti-Rohingya rhetoric has undoubtedly been one of the most intense in terms of both scale and duration. It began towards the end of April and is still continuing today. It all started with a disinformation campaign claiming that Rohingya refugees were demanding land and special rights. In May, an online petition was launched calling on the Malaysian prime minister to expel Rohingya refugees from Malaysia. Organisa...