Addressing the Rohingya Issue: One Perspective

Spent Sunday morning attending the Launching of the International Year of Solidarity with the Rohingya.

Buddhist - Muslim Relations: Resolving Conflict

A facebook friend posted this

My immediate thought was, "wow! another dimension to buddhist-muslim conflict". Also sounds like. "you started it first!". Not the best way to resolve conflict.

Here are the key points of my response on FB (edited):

Interviewed on AL-Hijrah TV (on the Issue of Rohingya)

Terima kasih TV Al Hijrah kerana memberi peluang menyuarakan pandangan dan pendapat mengenai isu pihak Rohingya semalam. Berikut adalah beberapa unsur yang timbul dalam sesi soal-jawab semalam (walaupun bukan semua jawapan di siarkanlah)

Where are our religious and spiritual values

(source here)

Are there Buddhists, Christians, Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Taoist in our Malaysian government holding on to the teachings of compassion, mercy, kindness, empathy, benevolance and humanity to make a call to rescue the Rohingyas from the open seas?

We have done so before when the Vietnamese boat people arrived in the 70s. We can definitely do better!

This is not right!

Sharing my personal thoughts on the the Rohingya boat refugees turned away by Malaysia, sending them back to sea:

(Picture from www.nytimes.com)

1. What is done by the Malaysian government not right. How can it be that every member of the Malaysian cabinet, senior Government officials, in their hearts agree to this?  I do not think so. I believe we have the heart to save lives..