Two headless torsos, four legs, two heads, two hands and an arm had been found in Penang among the recovered body parts of 52 murder victims last year. Among the dead, 18 were identified as Myanmar nationals.
Nine men – Bilal, Mohd Rafik, Habibullah, Mohd Rafi, Yassin, Hussain, Maung Maung, Ali and Hafiz – were charged in the Penang magistrate’s court with the killing their Buddhist countrymen.
See ‘Nine Myanmar nationals charged over brutal murders in Malaysia‘ (Asia One, 15 Jan 2015)
“The flashpoint of this violence is Seberang Prai where Rohingya Muslims from the western Rakhine state are the main suspects in the killings,” said The Malay Mail in an earlier and separate report.
“Most of the victims were Buddhists.” – see ‘Gruesome Myanmar communal murders grip Penang‘ (The Malay Mail, 18 Sept 2014)
Excerpt from Asia One report:
BUKIT MERTAJAM, Malaysia – Nine Myanmar nationals have been charged in three courts in Seberang Perai over the brutal slaying of six of their countrymen late last year.
At a magistrate’s court here, Bilal Mohammad Ghulam, Mohamad Rafik, Habibullah, Mohd Rafi Shafie, Yassin, Hussain Swaley, Soe Maung Maung, Ali and Hafiz Ahmad, aged between 20 and 44, were jointly charged with committing murder as members of an illegal assembly.
They are alleged to have killed Myo Aung and another unidentified man at a house in Cherok Tok Kun, Alma, here, between 8pm and 9.30pm on Nov 23 last year.
No plea was entered and no bail was offered as this offence, under Section 149 of the Penal Code, is punishable under Section 302, which carries the mandatory death sentence.
All nodded when asked if they understood the charge that was read to them in Bahasa Malaysia.
Magistrate Diannee Ningrad Nor Azahar fixed Jan 30 for mention for the appointment of an interpreter.
Four of the accused were later brought before Sessions Court judge M. Vijayalakshmi where Mohamad Rafik, Bilal and Hafiz were charged with another person still at large with the murder of Htoo Aung in front of a shop in Taman Impian Ria, Machang Bubok, here, at 12.45am on Oct 15 last year.
The three, together with Ali and another person still at large, are also charged with murdering Kyaw Tan Hla, 35, and Tun Yine Maung, 28, at the Kampung Manggis oil palm plantation in Machang Bubok at 10pm on Sept 14 last year.
Bilal, Mohamad Rafik, Habibullah, Ali and Mohd Rafi Shafie were then taken to Butterworth, where they were charged at a magistrate’s court with yet another count of murder.
They are alleged to have killed Aung Naing Soe, 23, between 9pm and 10pm by the Bukit Tok Alang oil palm plantation in Jalan Jarak Atas, Tasek Gelugor, on Nov 9 last year. – Asia One
Throat slashed, hands chopped, stomach stabbed
“Some suspect the attacks were related to clashes between Buddhists and Muslims that rocked Burma’s second-biggest city Mandalay last week.”
See ‘Four Burmese workers killed brutally in Malaysia this month‘ (The Irrawaddy, 10 July 2014)
Their throats were slit
Two ethnic Arakanese men — Kyaw Thar Hla, 32 and Kyaw Aye Hlaing, 29 were murdered in Seberang Perai, Penang last September. The two murdered men were Buddhists.
It was believed that both the victims were killed in “communal murders” between the Muslim Rohingya and ethnic Rakhine Buddhist communities in Malaysia, according to a report ‘Pair of Burmese migrants slashed to death in Malaysia‘ (The Irrawaddy, 18 Sept 2014)
Two more dead bring Burmese murder victim count to 20
Excerpts from news report in The Irrawaddy:
Two more Burmese migrant workers in Malaysia’s Penang State were murdered on Sunday, bringing the number killed this year in the fellow Southeast Asian nation to about 20, according to a Kuala Lumpur-based migrant advocacy group.
San Win, chairman of the Myanmar Free Funeral Service in the Malaysian capital, said one man was stabbed repeatedly in his abdomen and ribs and the other victim had had his throat slit. Their bodies were found by police in an oil palm plantation on Monday.
“They worked in a factory in Butterworth town, in Seberang Perai in Penang,” San Win said. – The Irrawaddy
More murders by Rohingya suspects
Attack on visiting Buddhist politicians from Myanmar rattles the ethnic Rakhines who are Buddhist and the Rohingya communities in Malaysia, says a WSJ report.
“Security experts have warned that these tensions could spill into other parts of the region, particularly Muslim-majority Malaysia and Indonesia where those sympathetic toward the plight of Myanmar Muslims could carry out revenge attacks. Malaysia is especially vulnerable to these tensions, with a large population of both Buddhist and Muslim Myanmar residents.”
Below are further excerpts from the report detailing yet another killing – ‘Myanmar Nationals in Malaysia shaken after activist’s killing‘ (The Wall Street Journal, 19 Feb 2014)
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – The brutal killing of a Myanmar-born democracy activist here has unnerved Myanmar nationals in Malaysia, who worry that religious tensions back home are spilling into their sizable community in their adoptive country.
Aung Gyi, a Buddhist and member of the Malaysia chapter of 88 Generation & New Generation Society — a prominent group pushing for further democratic reforms in Myanmar—was found dead Feb. 4, police said. His body had been stuffed in the trunk of an abandoned car, they said. An autopsy report showed he had been stabbed in the neck and face by a screwdriver, attacked with a heavy object–possibly a brick or club — and punched several times.
That same week, two Buddhist politicians from Myanmar’s troubled Rakhine state escaped unharmed after a drive-by shooting while visiting Kuala Lumpur, in what police described as a likely assassination attempt. – WSJ
Helen Ang 
‘All nodded when asked if they understood the charge that was read to them in Bahasa Malaysia.’
Rakyat Malaysia pun ramai lagi yang terpaksa pakai penterjemah…
Do Buddhists feel safe?.This is a fundamental question. And are they free of any danger?. With increased number of Rohingya Muslims building up in Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia, following the migration crisis the scenario is perilous. This is bad for the world and peace is impossible.
Hi Helen,
I’ve been an avid reader of your blog for a while, and I usually do not comment on any blogs or comments section unless I really have something to contribute.
Since we are still on the issue of refugees, you and others might be interested to read how Australia was confronted with this issue (yes, the Australia our Hannah Banana wanted to migrate) and how it cost human lives (refugees’ lives, that is) :
http://www.returnofkings.com/53399/how-political-correctness-killed-1200-people
Some interesting quotes from the article:
“Under the conservative Howard government (1996-2007) asylum seekers arriving by boat were compulsorily locked up in offshore camps on islands such as Nauru in what was known as the “Pacific Solution.”
“For years the Labor Party kept hammering the Liberals on the issue – “Oh, won’t somebody please think of the children!” By the time the Rudd–Gillard government came to power in 2007, public opinion was firmly against the policy….”
“Opening up our borders had two main effects. Firstly, the number of boat people – which had all but stopped for the last six years of the Howard government, skyrocketed to record levels. Fifty thousand entered the country in the next six years…..”
“Secondly, and most tragically, deaths at sea resumed, and quickly grew worse than ever…”
“WHERE are they now, those hypocrites who once noisily wept over John Howard’s “cruelty” to boat people?
In January last year, at least nine people drowned off the Indonesian island of Rote as they tried to sail to Ashmore Reef. Indonesian police said the dead included a nine-year-old boy.
In April that year, another nine died, this time in the South China Sea. The lone survivor was 14-year-old Aqeel Qirkeel, who’d tried to save his mother by tying her to him with his shirt.
Also that month, five Afghans died when they blew up their boat at Ashmore Reef to stop our navy from turning them back.
In May, 19 more died when an Indonesian boat taking them to Australia sank off Halang Island….”
“On this goes, page after page – men, women and children, drowned at sea on rickety, barely seaworthy boats. Of course, Rudd and Gillard weren’t personally responsible for each sinking, but they were warned, repeatedly, of what would happen. They chose politics over human life, in a manner far more soulless than the conservative politicians they love to laud their moral credentials over…. ”
“The new Abbott government, under the wanky-sounding but effective “Operation Sovereign Borders” re-implented the strategies of the Howard government. Three hundred boats carrying over 20,000 people had arrived in 2013. In 2014, the same figure was just one boat. Deaths at sea again went to zero, with total deaths in custody at five.
Not only did 1,200 die from the ending of the Pacific Solution, but 50,000 other people – those trapped in more dire need in refugee camps overseas, and perhaps more willing to integrate, were skipped over.
Australia maintains a set refugee intake, regardless of the source. Instead of hand-picking refugees overseas, assessing those who needed help the most and would assimilate into our society best, then safely flying them here for resettlement, we lured tens of thousands to jump the queue and pay people smugglers to transport them here on rickety boats…..”
And of course, most tellingly ( and this sums up people like That Bloody Banana!) :
“These people don’t give a shit about refugees.
They don’t give a shit about helping people, or making the world a better place.
They are interested in their own power, and that alone. They are perfectly happy to use the hysterical, hamster-brained left in Australia to further their own agenda. They are fully aware that what they are doing is disastrous, but they just don’t care….”
One of the commenters of the article also sums it up so nicely in two words: Moral Vanity
Thanks.
re: “And of course, most tellingly (and this sums up people like That Bloody Banana!)”
Also the commenter using the ‘HH’ moniker here.
I think we have enough pendatang problem ,why adding more ?.
I guess … there’s a possibility. Looking at the numbers released by UNHCR through BERNAMA:
> 141570 political asylum seekers from Mynmar in Malaysia(as of Feb 2015)
> out of this, 45170 are Rohingyas and 12340 are Muslims??? My understanding is … the Rohingyas ARE Muslims. So … the other 12340 could be Muslims of other ethnicity from Myanmar??? With that … there’s 57510 Muslims or 40.62% Muslims from the total number of asylum seekers from Mynmar.
> So back in their own country, the Muslims are definitely a minority and hence … a case of David vs Goliath. But here in Malaysia, they are almost evenly matched.
Note:
a. The above numbers does not take into account the legal and illegal migrant workers from Mynmar(and the number of illegal migrant workers MIGHT overlap with those seeking asylum).
b. And I wonder what the other 59.38% of non-Muslim from Mynmar are doing in Malaysia, since only the Muslims are being persecuted over there. Economic reasons I guess … or just to make sure that the fight will continue, here.
Malaysia cari penyakit jer dengan membiarkan pendatang asing ini yang kelar leher orang untuk membanjiri kita. Kenapa kerajaan tidak mampu bertegas?
Hi hi hi … Boss Helen kan dah tahu. Saya berikan sedikit, walaupun tak berapa tepat:
1. Malaysia cari penyakit … ?
> Bukannya penyakit baru pun … masalah penyakit berserta kebanjiran pendatang asing telah wujud sejak sekian lama. Ketika kedatangan pekerja migran Indonesia … pergaduhan(mengakibatkan kecederaan atau kematian) hanya dilaporkan sebagai berlaku dikalangan ‘warga Indonesia’ dalam media2 arus perdana. Walhal yg berlaku adalah perselisihan di antara kaum2 seperti Flores vs Madura vs Lombok vs Jawa vs Aceh vs Kerinchi vs Batak vs sbgnya.
> Mungkin isu2 semasa ataupun kisah2 lampau(sejarah) di antara mereka tidak menjadi isu warta dunia; namun apabila tercetusnya isu/konflik setempat di Malaysia … kita dapati bahawa ‘a clear line is drawn’ bila pergaduhan berlaku. What vs what …. kerana konflik yg berlaku di sini dicampuradukkan dengan peristiwa silam yg telah berlaku di negara asal mereka.
2. Kerajaan tidak mampu bertegas?
> Saya rasa kita ada dasar yg jelas. Masalahnya implementation lah … where and whose point of action? Imigresen tuding kat polis … polis tuding pada imigresen. Belum ambil kira Polis Marin … Maritim … dan sebagainya. Cerita tenaga kerja tak cukuplah … budgetlah.
Belum masukkan si MP(lawmaker) ni/tu … yg sepatutnya pasti mahir serta tahu dengan apa yg berlaku di kawasan masing2 … esp. bila dah wujudnya perkampungan2 pendatang asing bak cendawan tumbuh selepas hujan dalam kawasan mereka.
> Berapa(kejadian) yg dilaporkan vs berapa sebenarnya berlaku? Berapa banyak kematian kaum migran Indonesia(ketika itu) yg ditanam dalam kubur2 yg tak bertanda? Seperti biasalah … figure begets action!
Dalam bab angka ni juga mungkin kerajaan perlu memelihara atau melaksana ‘angka2 lain’ yg lebih utama …
> Ada blogger terkenal(Boss Helen pun terkenal jugak) mengatakan isu2 yg perlu ditangani/utamakan mestilah kerap diutarakan oleh media2 berita sediada(sebagai sumber tekanan). Contohnya(kata beliau), pembunuh utama rakyat Malaysia merupakan kemalangan jalanraya sedangkan tindakan yg dilakukan kelihatan bermusim … iaitu ketika percutian perayaan.
Investigative reporting tu jangan cerita lah … memang kurang serta berbahaya pula.
> Dan kalau ada pihak2 bawahan yg sering menyuarakan kebimbangan hal kaum migran ni, jawapan standard ala korprat yg diterima adalah ‘don’t rock the boat’. Entahlah … antara boat kaum migran ngan ‘boat Malaysia’, yg mana agaknya lebih kukuh? ‘Boat Malaysia’ tak tahan ‘dihentam badai’ ke …?
The Myanmar government does not only persecute Rohingyas. The ethnic Karen, pro-democracy activists, journalists, and other junta opponents are targeted.
Are the ethnic Karen, pro-democracy activists, journalists and other junta opponents boarding boats also and sailing here?
Some of them used the overland route via Thailand. This was also used by the Rohingyas until the recent crackdown by Thai authorities. You might have read the recent news about smuggling camps discovered with mass graves.
Don’t forget that the massacre of hundreds of Buddhist monks by the then ruling junta following their march for democracy.
This is not a simple Muslim vs Buddhist issue, although it is framed as such.
It is about power, land and resources – just ask ourselves: who stands to gain from all this? Surely not the masses who are dying from fights and drowning.
As for Wirathu and his 969 movement – as he claims that the Rohingya harbour terrorist elements then let it be investigated thoroughly; but as a bhikku, his conduct in pursuing this matter is a grave deviation from the Vinaya rules and principles of brahmavihara.
re: “This is not a simple Muslim vs Buddhist issue, although it is framed as such.”
At ground level in Rakhine, the Rohingya are the victims of Buddhist individuals in various violent ways. In Penang, some Burmese Buddhist immigrants workers were killed and the murder suspects Muslim Myanmar nationals.
Malaysia shouldn’t allow them to import their deadly rivalries into our country. The authorities must be stricter on illegal foreigners and this includes the Rohingya trying to land in boats.
‘a bhikku’
Melayu dah lama ‘kunci mulut’. The real bhiksus? Bisu?