Myanmar is “shooting itself in the foot” by banning workers from going to Malaysia, Mark Farmaner, director of Burma Campaign UK, told the Southeast Asia Globe. “It is the Burmese migrants and their families who will suffer most from this move,” he said, “and the Burmese economy which benefits from money sent back.”
The ban came after Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak denounced the reported human rights abuses taking place in Rakhine State. Mark Farmaner said Najib’s statements filled the vacuum left by a lack of international intervention in the situation in Myanmar. “It is a bizarre turnaround to see the West largely silent in the face of serious human rights violations in Myanmar, and instead a member of Asean is leading the international outcry,” he said.