"Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s comments on the Rohingya genocide has angered Myanmar, as it continued to deny crimes against the Muslim community in Rakhine state. In an exclusive interview with Anadolu Agency last week, Mahathir had said that the Rohingya faced “massacre or genocide” and “they should either be treated as nationals, or they should be given their territory to form their own state.” Taking exception, Myanmar’s Foreign Ministry, in a statement on Wednesday, expressed “dismay and objected” to the Malaysian leader’s comments. Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Myint Thu who met Malaysian Ambassador to Myanmar Zahairi Baharim on Wednesday at the headquarters of Myanmar Foreign Ministry in Naypyitaw, rejected the allegations of genocide. “Such allegations are not supportive to the ongoing efforts of Myanmar government and ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] in finding a sustainable solution for peace, development and social harmony in Rakhine State,” he told the Malaysian envoy. He also said that Malaysian leader’s statement was not constructive and described it as a breach of the principles enshrined in the ASEAN Charter. “It was also against the ASEAN’s cardinal principles of non-interference in the internal affairs and respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of ASEAN member states,” said the ministry statement. Rohingya experts, however, blamed Myanmar for "buying time" and diverting the focus of international community, by repeatedly denying crimes, it has committed against the Rohingya Muslim community in the Rakhine state. Some 750,000 Rohingya fled state persecution since August 2017 and took shelter in neighboring Bangladesh as thousands were killed, raped and hundreds of Rohingya villages were completely burnt..."