Malaysian ship carrying aid for Rohingya Muslims arrives in Myanmar

A Malaysian ship carrying hundreds of tonnes of aid, including food and medicine, to help members of the persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority has arrived in Myanmar.

Razali Ramli, from the 1Putera Club Malaysia, which helped organize the shipment along with a coalition of nongovernmental organizations, said that the 2,200-tonne aid shipment arrived at the port in Yangon on Thursday.

Organizers of the aid ship trust the Myanmar government to deliver the supplies as promised despite its record of discrimination, he noted.

“We have to respect Myanmar’s sovereignty,” Ramli said, adding, “We hand over the aid in good faith.”

The “Food Flotilla for Myanmar” arrived in Myanmar amid an ongoing extensive crackdown on Rohingya Muslims in northwestern Rakhine state.

In January, Myanmar officials said they had permitted arrival of the vessel, but that it had to dock in Yangon instead of Sittwe, the capital of Rakhine.

Malaysia is an outspoken critic of Myanmar’s treatment of the Rohingya. Last month, Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak denounced Myanmar for letting a harsh crackdown on the Muslim community continue.