Hollywood actress Michelle Yeoh praises Najib's efforts to help Rohingya

COX'S BAZAR, Bangladesh: Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh on Saturday (Jan 27) praised Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak and his government's efforts to help Rohingya refugees.

Yeoh, who is the Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme, said Najib and his government had done "amazing work" on the issue. She said it was "very important for Malaysia as a neighbouring country to help the Rohingya" who faced suffering and oppression in Myanmar.

“We are very proud to recognise the fact that he (Najib) was the one who championed this in the first place as a good neighbour and (is) doing the right thing as a human being," the actress told reporters on Saturday during a visit to the refugees' camp.

"Our prime minister has shown great leadership together with the Bangladeshi government with our partners in Saudi (Arabia) and UAE (United Arab Emirates)."

Yeoh was part of the Malaysian special delegation to Cox’s Bazar led by armed forces chief General Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohammed Noor. 

The delegation visited a Malaysian field hospital that started operations on Nov 31 as well as the Balukhali refugee camp, located about 10 minutes from the field hospital.

Raja Mohamed Affandi said that the hospital has received more than 4,000 patients so far, and that it also received Bangladeshi nationals living in the hospital's vicinity.

Yeoh said the delegation represented Najib and would report to the prime minister once they returned to Malaysia.