"The stupidest suggestion," says the Malay-language caption of a Facebook graphic shared on September 28, 2026.
The graphic, presented as a news item with logos in the top-left and top-right corners, features a photo of Road Transport Department (JPJ) Director-General Aedy Fadly Ramli speaking at a press conference.
The photo is superimposed with Malay-language text that says "Breaking news: JPJ Proposes Allowing Rohingya to Obtain Driving Licences?"
It surfaced amid a huge uptick in anti-migrant sentiment in Malaysia, where Rohingya -- a persecuted Muslim minority -- are frequently targeted by online disinformation campaigns that rights advocates say are fuelling xenophobia and intimidation.
Hundreds of thousands of people signed a petition -- later taken down -- calling for the removal of Rohingya refugees from Malaysia in June, claiming their presence had placed a burden on resources and raised "security concerns" (archived here and here). The petition prompted rights groups to call on authorities to take action against what they called "hate speech" against Rohingya (archived link).
Rohingya make up two-thirds of the 190,000 Myanmar refugees and asylum seekers in Malaysia, according to the United Nations (archived link).
Kuala Lumpur in late September began sending back thousands of Myanmar nationals it said had agreed "voluntary" repatriation from detention centres, in a scheme that rights group say may endanger migrants by returning them to the war-torn country (...
An Indian-origin man in the US has been charged with allegedly submitting $66.2 million in bogus claims for COVID-19 tests that were never conducted, US Department of Justice said.Rajesh “Raj” Pat...