KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 3 — Over 100 Malaysians demonstrated today against the temporary US immigration ban on citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries and refugees.

The protest, which lasted for over an hour in front of the US Embassy here, was led by Opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan along with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM), joined by several other non-governmental organisations (NGOs).

Representatives from the organisers later submitted a memorandum directed towards US’ Ambassador-Designate to Malaysia, Kamala Shirin Lakhdir, demanding that US president Donald Trump rescind the executive order he signed on January 27 putting into effect the ban.

The memorandum on the ban, signed by Pakatan Harapan’s Amanah, PKR and DAP, along with PPBM, was handed over by Amanah president Mohamad Sabu and DAP’s Pasir Pinji assemblyman Howard Lee.

The memorandum, in which the demands were addressed directly to Trump, called on him to uphold the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Among those who attended include DAP’s Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua, social activist Datin Paduka Marina Mahathir, and PKR’s Selangor state executive councillor Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.

Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (ABIM) was among the NGOs that were also present and endorsed the memorandum.

Pakatan Harapan secretariat chief Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, who first called for the protest, said that the immigration ban played straight into the narrative of the Islamic State (IS).

“It plays into their narrative that you should not trust democratically elected leaders. That you don’t trust superpowers,” he said.

“It gives more reason for people to be radicalised,” he added.

Trump’s order banned citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen for 90 days from entering the US.

It also suspended the US’ refugee system for 120 days and suspended the intake of Syrian refugees indefinitely.

KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia, citing “new facts” discovered in recently declassified British documents, has filed a challenge to the 2008 decision by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) that ruled Pedra Branca to be Singaporean territory.

Singapore’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in response that the Republic is “studying Malaysia’s application and documentation closely”, and has formed a legal team to respond to Malaysia’s challenge.

The Singapore legal team includes Attorney-General Lucien Wong, former Deputy Prime Minister S Jayakumar, Professor Tommy Koh, and former Chief Justice Chan Sek Keong.

Malaysian Attorney-General Mohamed Tan Sri Apandi Ali filed the application with the ICJ at The Hague yesterday over the sovereignty of Pedra Branca, which is located some 24 nautical miles to the east of Singapore.

“The application was made by Malaysia upon the discovery of some fact of such a nature as to be a decisive factor, which fact was, when the judgment was given, unknown to the Court and also to Malaysia as the party claiming revision,” Apandi said in a statement today.

He added: “We are also confident that the requirements as stipulated under Article 61 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice have been met in that, inter alia, the application for revision is brought within six months of the discovery of the new fact, and within 10 years of the date of the Judgment.”

The Malaysian statement did not disclose details of the “new facts”. In response to queries from TODAY, Apandi would only say that the “new facts” were “discovered after the British Government declassified the documents recently”.

But when asked to identify the specific documents, the Malaysian AG said: “Not now…when Singapore is being notified, they will be served with the relevant papers.”

The row over the ownership of Pedra Branca dates back to 1979, when Malaysia published a map indicating the island to be within the country’s territorial waters. Singapore lodged a formal protest with Malaysia in early 1980.

It took more than 20 years for the dispute to be brought before the ICJ in July 2003. In May 2008, after several rounds of written pleadings and public hearings, the court ruled Pedra Branca to be Singaporean territory.

The ICJ had found that Singapore investigated shipwrecks within Pedra Branca’s territorial waters and granted or did not grant permission to Malaysian officials to survey the waters surrounding the island. The ICJ noted too that Malaysia did not react to the flying of the Singapore ensign on the island and Singapore’s installation of military equipment on the island.

The ICJ had also judged that sovereignty over the Middle Rocks, a maritime feature to the south of Pedra Branca, belonged to Malaysia. But the court refrained from awarding South Ledge, also to the south of Pedra Branca, to either Malaysia or Singapore.

Asked how confident he was with this latest legal challenge, Apandi said: “I’m very confident, so is my team at The Hague.” — TODAY

GENEVA, Feb 3 — Myanmar’s military crackdown on Rohingya Muslims has likely killed hundreds of people, with children slaughtered and women raped in a campaign that may amount to ethnic cleansing, the UN said Friday.

A report from the United Nations Human Rights office, based on interviews with 204 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh, also found it was “very likely” that crimes against humanity had been committed in Myanmar, echoing previous UN accusations.

The so-called “area clearance operations” launched by the military in northwest Rakhine state on October 10 “have likely resulted in several hundred deaths”, the report said.

Rohingya refugees recounted gruesome violations allegedly perpetrated by members of Myanmar’s security services or civilian fighters working in collaboration with the military and police.

“An eight-month-old baby was reportedly killed while his mother was gang-raped by five security officers,” the rights office said in a press release, citing witnesses.

Three children aged six or younger were “slaughtered with knives”, according to the report.

“What kind of hatred could make a man stab a baby crying out for his mother’s milk,” UN rights chief Zeid bin Ra’ad Zeid al-Hussein said in the statement.

“What kind of ‘clearance operation’ is this? What national security goals could possibly be served by this?,” he added.

A full 47 per cent of those interviewed by the UN said they had a family member who had been killed in the operation, while 43 per cent reported being raped.

Ethnic cleansing?

Rights office spokesman Ravina Shamdasani told reporters in Geneva that “the kind of systematic and widespread violations that we have documented could be described as ethnic cleansing”, but noted that was not a legally defined offence provable in court.

The report said the violence was the result of “purposeful policy” designed by one group to remove another group from an area “through violent and terror-inspiring means”.

The Rohingya Muslims are loathed by many among Myanmar’s Buddhist majority.

Myanmar refuses to recognise the Rohingya as one of the country’s ethnic minorities, instead describing them as Bengalis—or illegal immigrants from neighbouring Bangladesh—even though many have lived in Myanmar for generations.

Witnesses told the UN they had been taunted while they were beaten and mocked over the failure of “Allah” to help.

The military crackdown in Rakhine, home to more than one million Rohingya, was triggered by October 9 attacks on border guard posts, which Myanmar and the International Crisis Group say were carried out by foreign-backed militants.

Nearly 70,000 Rohingya have fled the ensuing crisis to Bangladesh.

The Myanmar government’s own probe into the unrest denied that the security forces had carried out a genocidal campaign against the Rohingya.

The government, led by Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, has said the allegations are invented and has resisted mounting international pressure to protect the minority.

But the UN’s Zeid, who has previously urged Myanmar to act, hit back again on Friday demanding that impunity for such serious crimes had to stop.

“The Government of Myanmar must immediately halt these grave human rights violations against its own people, instead of continuing to deny they have occurred,” he said.

Myanmar government spokesman Zaw Htay had no immediate comment as he had not seen the UN report.

Shamdasani however told reporters that the rights office had shared their findings with the government and was “engaged with them in Geneva as well as in Myanmar.” — AFP

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 3 — Malaysia’s Foreign Ministry expressed regret today over the Bangladeshi government’s decision not to allow a food flotilla to provide aid for Rohingya refugees.

The Foreign Ministry said its minister, Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, met with the High Commissioner of Bangladesh to Malaysia, Md Shahidul Islam, at the Foreign Affairs Ministry today to seek clarification on Bangladesh’s decision on the “Humanitarian Mission — Food Flotilla for Myanmar” that was originally planned to dock at Yangon, Myanmar, before heading to Teknaf, Bangladesh, the port closest to 65,000 Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh.

“YB Foreign Minister reiterated that Malaysia’s main concern is the plight of the Rohingyas in Myanmar as well as the Rohingya refugees,” said the Foreign Ministry in a statement.

“The High Commissioner acknowledged YB Foreign Minister’s concern and would revert after getting further clarifications from the Bangladesh government.

“The Food Flotilla aims to provide some 2,200 tonnes of goods for the Rohingyas. This initiative is consistent with the resolution adopted by the Extraordinary Session of the OIC (Organisation of Islamic Cooperation) Council of Foreign Ministers which called upon OIC member states to urgently render humanitarian assistance to alleviate the suffering and hardship of the Rohingyas,” it added.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak launched earlier today the food flotilla organised by Umno, PAS, and some non-governmental organisations, that carried 2,200 tonnes of food and medicine meant for affected communities in Sittwe, Myanmar’s western Rakhine state.

The mission, organised by 1Malaysia Putera Club (KP1M), the Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organisations (MAPIM) and Turkiye Diyanet Vakfi (TDV), is expected to arrive at Yangon, Myanmar, on February 9.