KUALA LUMPUR: Aung San Suu Kyi must step in to prevent the genocide of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, Malaysia’s prime minister said on Sunday as he mocked the Nobel laureate for her inaction.

Addressing a 5,000-strong rally in Kuala Lumpur, Najib Razak said the Myanmar government must stop the bloody crackdown in its far west that has sent thousands of Rohingya fleeing, many with stories of rape, torture and murder.

“We want to tell Aung San Suu Kyi, enough is enough... We must and we will defend Muslims and Islam,” he said as supporters chanted “Allahu Akbar”.

“We want the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) to act. Please do something. The UN do something. The world cannot sit and watch genocide taking place,” said Najib.

More than 10,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh in recent weeks, the United Nations said on Wednesday, escaping a bloody army crackdown in the north of Rakhine state.

Those arriving in Bangladesh have related horrifying stories of gang rape, torture and murder at the hands of Myanmar’s security forces.

Myanmar has denied allegations of abuse, but has also banned foreign journalists and independent investigators from the area.

Malaysia has recently upped its criticism of Myanmar for its handling of the crisis. Last month it summoned the Myanmar ambassador, while around 500 Malaysians and Rohingya marched to the embassy in the Malaysian capital carrying banners denouncing the genocide.

A senior minister has called on ASEAN, the ten-country Southeast Asia bloc, to review Myanmar’s membership, while a strongly worded statement from the foreign ministry on Saturday accused Myanmar of engaging in ethnic cleansing.

The plight of Rohingya Muslims in predominantly-Buddhist Myan­mar has galvanised Muslims in Southeast Asia and beyond. Denied citizenship although they have lived in Myanmar for generations, Rohingya have faced persecution that exploded in inter-communal violence in Rakhine state in 2012 that left hundreds dead and forced more than 100,000 into squalid camps.

The violence has again flared up as Myanmar’s military launched attacks on Rohingya villages following deadly strikes by unknown assailants on police posts along the border with Bangladesh in October.

Najib told the rally that he had asked Indonesian President Joko Widodo to stage a similar protest in Jakarta to put pressure on Myan­mar, because he said the charter of ASEAN, to which all three countries belonged, ensured the protection of human rights.

The Malaysian government-led protest marks a departure from the long-standing policy of non-interference by ASEAN members in each other’s affairs.

Published in Dawn, December 5th, 2016