Fabricated quotes targeting Rohingyas in Malaysia circulate online
- Published on June 25, 2026 at 10:35
- 3 min read
- By AFP Malaysia
A controversial cattle slaughter incident has reignited anti-Rohingya sentiment in Malaysia, with posts sharing fabricated statements online claiming Rohingyas are demanding their own territory in the Southeast Asian nation. AFP found one of the quotes was attributed to a non-existent Rohingya leader whose purported picture was likely AI-generated, while the other is from a bogus Instagram post of a US-based Rohingya man who denied making the remarks.
"We don't ask for much. Selayang is enough for us," reads a news-style graphic shared June 1, 2026 on Facebook, referring to a town in Selangor state 20 kilometres (12 miles) from the capital Kuala Lumpur.
The quote is attributed to a man identified as "President Rohingya Malaysia" -- who is supposedly shown speaking behind a microphone.
Another Facebook post shared June 2 features what appears to be Instagram content from an account called "arakanprince_".
"As a rohingya grow up in selangor and malaysia, i really hope that malay people will be kicked out by rohingya from malaysia, soon," the account owner supposedly says.
Malaysia hosts more than 215,000 refugees and asylum seekers registered with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, including some 126,000 Rohingyas who make up the country's largest refugee population (archived link).
Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya Muslims fled violence by the Myanmar army and Buddhist militias, escaping to neighbouring Bangladesh and other countries.
Renewed anti-Rohingya sentiment emerged in Malaysia following controversy over cattle slaughter during Eid al-Adha celebrations in late May, in which the community was accused of discarding animal waste in nearby drains (archived link).
The incident sparked a petition calling for the removal of Rohingyas, amid what rights groups said was a wider disinformation campaign accusing the group of demanding land and special rights (archived here and here).
Responding to the calls for deportation, Malaysian Home Minister Saifuddin Nasution said the government would aim to balance security and humanitarian issues (archived link).
The fabricated quotes alleging Rohingyas were seeking their own territory in the country spread elsewhere on Facebook -- as well as Instagram and TikTok.
Non-existent person
But the Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organization, the most prominent non-profit working on Rohingya issues in Malaysia, disputed the existence of the man pictured in the first circulating image.
Zafar Ahmad Abdul Ghani, president of the organisation, said he does not recognise the person, while also dismissing the title "President Rohingya Malaysia".
"This is misinformation, fake and fabricated," he told AFP on June 16.
The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia similarly said it was not aware of any reliable source that had verified the quote in the false posts.
"In the absence of credible verification, such claims should be treated with caution, as the dissemination of unverified information may contribute to misinformation or disinformation circulating online," a spokesperson for the agency said on June 18.
AFP found no official reports indicating such a Rohingya group leader existed in Malaysia.
A combination of reverse image and keyword searches found the graphic was earlier shared on a TikTok page called The Pandir Post on May 31, which says it publishes "satire news" (archived link).
The account has labelled the image as containing "AI-generated media". AFP reached out to The Pandir Post, but a response was not forthcoming.
An analysis of the circulating graphic using OpenAI's detection tools shows it was made with the tech giant's models (archived link).
Faked Instagram post
Meanwhile, the supposed Instagram post from "arakanprince_" about Rohingyas kicking Malaysians out of their country is similarly fabricated.
No trace of the post could be found on the account, whose owner describes himself as an ethnic Arakan and Rohingya born in Malaysia who currently lives in the United States.
An analysis of the circulating image found several visual mistakes. The post date is missing and there is a grammatically incorrect section below the caption that reads: "View all 30 comment".
The digital creator told AFP on June 15: "The image being circulated was not created, posted, or shared by me. What I can confirm is that the screenshot being spread online falsely attributes the content to my Instagram account."
He also dismissed the claims in an earlier Instagram video (archived link).
AFP has debunked more misinformation targeting Rohingyas in Malaysia here and here.
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