MALAYSIAN SOCIAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE

STATEMENT

September 2026

MSRI Reaffirms Its Commitment to Human Rights and Dignity for All Communities in Malaysia
The Malaysian Social Research Institute (MSRI) has observed, with concern, the growing volume of hostile rhetoric, unverified claims, and dehumanising narratives directed at vulnerable communities in Malaysia, including the Rohingya refugee community, circulating across social media and public discourse in recent weeks.

MSRI’s mandate rests on a simple, non‐negotiable premise: every person’s dignity and fundamental rights are worth protecting, regardless of legal status, ethnicity, or nationality. Violence in any form against human beings is unacceptable, and injustice or violations of human rights cannot be condoned.

Founded in 1959 to study and understand sociological challenges in Southeast Asia, MSRI has consistently worked to improve standards of living and quality of life through education, research, and community empowerment. Any regression in the treatment of vulnerable communities undermines these principles and the progress we strive for in building a more harmonious and intelligent society.

We recognise that legitimate questions of policy, enforcement, and community concern deserve honest, fact‐based public discussion. MSRI does not weigh in on individual disputes or unverified incidents circulating in the press. What concerns us is a broader and separate pattern: the spread of fabricated claims, collective blame placed on an entire community for the actions of a few, and rhetoric that reduces a vulnerable population to a threat rather than a group of people in need of protection.

This pattern has already been documented and flagged by Malaysia’s Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM) and by independent human rights and fact‐checking organisations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch. MSRI adds its voice to that growing consensus: dehumanising rhetoric, regardless of its target, corrodes the standard of justice and due process that every institution in Malaysia should uphold.

We call on the public, media practitioners, and fellow institutions to verify claims before amplifying them, to distinguish between legitimate reporting and disinformation, and to engage with vulnerable communities with the same fairness and compassion we would expect for our own families.

MSRI remains committed to its founding purpose: advancing human rights, justice, and evidence‐based governance for all who call Malaysia home, however temporarily or permanently.

Malaysian Social Research Institute (MSRI)
- Board of Governors

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