Rohingya schools in Malaysia face closures amid online surge in hate speech

KUALA LUMPUR – Nur, a 12-year-old Rohingya Muslim refugee in Malaysia, has stopped going to school since June, after two men threatened to beat her on her way to class.

“Why do you want to go to school? Do you want to take over our country?” they asked, according to Nur, whose family declined the use of her full name for fear of repercussion.

She is one of the many Rohingya children facing harassment and threats that have prompted refugee schools across Malaysia to close, say rights groups and educators.

“Children are so scared that they’re afraid to leave the house,” said Sharifah Shakirah, a Rohingya community activist. “You’re not just harassing a child for a day or two, you’re creating lasting trauma.”

At least nine schools have shut nationwide, Reuters checks show, after online hate speech and misinformation targeting the Rohingya led to tougher controls on the community and raised tech regulation concerns.

The Home Affairs Ministry did not respond to a request for comment on the school closures or hate speech campaign.

Malaysia does not officially recognise the Rohingya as refugees, branding them illegal migrants, though about 120,000 are registered with the United Nations refugee agency.

Muslim-majority Malaysia has long sympathised with the persecuted minority from Myanmar, but opinion soured during the Covid-19 pandemic amid accusations the refugees were spreading the virus, disrespecting cultural norms and competing for jobs.

Malaysians “have begun feeling burdened by issues arising from managing the Rohingya community”, Deputy Foreign Minister Lukanisman Awang Sauni told Parliament last week.

Fresh wave

Fresh invective spread in May on social media run by Meta Platforms, as well as ByteDance’s TikTok, amid hygiene concerns linked to the Muslim ritual of cattle slaughter by one Rohingya group.

An online petition urging the government to “remove” Rohingya refugees was taken down in June after rights groups raised the alarm, but not before it garnered nearly half a million signatures.

“What we’re seeing now is 100 times worse than during Covid-19,” said Sharifah the activist.

Some posts exhorted violence against Rohingya refugees, including children. One sub-topic on Meta-owned Threads was titled “Lempang Rohingya”, or “Slap Rohingya” in Malay, for example.

Some influencers encouraged users to film Rohingya communities and report their locations to the authorities.

Despite social media sentiment, the government cannot arbitrarily deport refugees, Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said in June, adding that it would respond by “balancing national security with humanitarian values”. He did not give details.

Free speech advocacy group Article 19 said the online campaign had boosted scrutiny of Rohingya communities, leading to investigations, raids and school closures.

But it did not observe any human rights-based approaches towards tackling attacks, a spokesperson said, adding: “The government’s punitive measures are causing more harm than reducing tension and harassment.”

The UN refugee agency said it was concerned by the rise of online hate speech, disinformation and dehumanising narratives targeting Rohingya and other refugees.

“We continue to monitor the situation closely and to support measures that reduce risks for refugees and host communities,” it added.

Schools targeted

The authorities have shut down Rohingya-linked businesses and schools they say are operating illegally.

Refugees cannot legally work in Malaysia and their children are barred from the national education system, so many attend schools run by non-government bodies or informal learning centres.

After Nur’s experience, her teacher and the school’s operator suspended classes indefinitely on safety concerns. Two nearby refugee schools also closed.

Rohingya children have been chased off public playgrounds, said the teacher, who founded the school in 2022 to offer them basic education to prepare for possible resettlement elsewhere or a safe return home.

The teacher, himself a Rohingya refugee who sought anonymity for security reasons, rejected accusations that the school was encouraging refugees to settle permanently in Malaysia or take jobs from locals.

“Many accuse us of breaking Malaysian laws,” he said. “For me, starting this school is one way I can teach others how to understand and obey the law.”

The authorities closed a school in Kedah in July for lacking proper permits after videos of it appeared online, said one of its teachers.

At least nine schools teaching Rohingya children have closed for safety reasons or were shut by the authorities after complaints on social media, said teachers and community leaders who declined to be interviewed.

Teachers at three schools still operating said they try to avoid being targeted by telling students not to wear uniforms and cancelling outdoor activities.

The longer-term impact of school closures would be worsening social problems, such as child marriage among Rohingya girls and vagrancy, said activist Sharifah.

“Many people complain about Rohingya children begging for money on the streets,” she added. “There will only be more of them if schools are closed.”

Renewed concerns over online moderation

Activists say the online posts have revived questions over social media platforms’ ability to curb hate speech and violent rhetoric.

Some posts flagged to Meta and TikTok were removed, Article 19 said, but many remained online.

Despite policies on harmful content, enforcement by social media firms is inconsistent, Article 19’s spokesperson said, as artificial intelligence moderation tools often struggle with coded language, linguistic nuances and visual content.

Meta and TikTok use a combination of automated detection and human review to enforce policies against hate speech and conduct on their platforms. TikTok also has safety features reminding users to reconsider potentially harmful comments.

For now, the children denied classes have few options, with a tearful Nur saying: “If I don’t go to school, I won’t be able to learn anything and I can’t become anything.” REUTERS