London: Aung San Suu Kyi needs to "wake up" and behave like the leader who once won the Nobel Peace prize, says fellow laureate Professor Muhammad Yunus, who also called for the United Nations Security Council to intervene to stop the slaughter of Rohingya Muslims.

Ms Suu Kyi, Myanmar's de facto leader, faces mounting criticism from some of her strongest supporters over her failure to speak out against the violence being committed against the Rohingya people - a stateless Muslim minority - and is even facing calls to be stripped of her peace prize.

Bangladeshi-born Professor Yunus is known for pioneering micro-finance for some of the world's poorest people, and was awarded the peace prize in 2012.

Speaking to Fairfax Media from Dhaka, Professor Yunus urged his fellow laureate to start responding like the bold leader the world had once applauded, as opposed to the politician surrounded by advisors that she had become.

"These are her own people. She says 'these are not my people, someone's else's people,' I would say she has completely departed from her original role which brought her the Nobel Prize."

"I still think that she is the same Aung San Suu Kyi that won the Nobel Peace Prize she will wake up to that person," he said.

"I'm still hoping that she will wake up, be bold and take some leadership, she has not shown that leadership yet."

It comes as another Nobel Peace laureate, retired South African cleric and anti-apartheid campaigner Archbishop Desmond Tutu, urged Ms Suu Kyi to intervene to help the Rohingya.

In an open letter to her he said:  "My dear sister: If the political price of your ascension to the highest office in Myanmar is your silence, the price is surely too steep ... We pray for you to speak out for justice, human rights and the unity of your people. We pray for you to intervene."

The UNHCR estimates 123,000 refugees have arrived in Bangladesh since violence broke out in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state in August. The UNHCR's Duniya Aslam Khan said most who had made it across the border are in a poor condition. 

"Most have walked for days from their villages – hiding in jungles, crossing mountains and rivers with what they could salvage from their homes. They are hungry, weak and sick."

Professor Yunus said the refugees flooding already poverty-stricken towns and villages would create a lot of tension between the two countries and risked the security of the region. 

"This is an explosive situation right now," he said.

He warned that Myanmar's complaints of terrorism breeding amongst Rohingyas would only be validated if their persecution continued.

"Already there are complaints about terrorism within Myanmar - this becomes an open door for a future, more explosive situation," he said.

Ms Suu Kyi was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1991 during her 15-years under house arrest by the military junta, which ended in 2010. 

Ms Suu Kyi herself has previously  by Latika M Bourke on Scribd