Former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has called on Burma to recognize the Rohingya Muslim minority in Arakan State as citizens. Delivering a keynote address at a conference on the Rohingya in Kuala Lumpur on Monday, Mahathir said, “It is very unfortunate that people should be killed and houses burnt, simply because the Myanmar government refuses to recognize its own citizens.” He went on to say that Burma should follow the example of Malaysia, which granted citizenship to Chinese and India immigrants after achieving independence from Britain.