Asean members have taken their own stand on Myanmar regardless of grouping's non-interference policy, says deputy minister

KUALA LUMPUR: Asean nations are becoming more open to adopting their own position if there are human rights abuses or power grabs in any of its member states, says Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Kamarudin Jaffar.

He said such actions by member countries could be seen in recent Asean meetings especially those related to Myanmar.

"I believe that the non-interference policy (of Asean) is being (approached) from a new perspective, where it did not stop Asean members from expressing their views, intervening or even taking action," he told the Dewan Rakyat on Wednesday (Nov 3) in reply to a question from Hassan Abdul Karim (PH-Pasir Gudang) during Question Time.

Hassan had asked whether or not Malaysia would ask Asean to review its policy of non-interference in the affairs of member states if there was genocide involved like the case of the Rohingya ethnic minority in Myanmar.

Kamarudin said it was evident that although the principle of non-interference still remained in the Asean charter, member states were now more willing to adopt individual stances where human rights and other issues were concerned.

"So the principle in the charter has (taken on) new meaning and also led to new actions," he added.

The military seized power in Myanmar in February, detaining civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi and triggering mass protests and economic chaos.

Kamarudin said Malaysia was among the Asean member states most affected by the Rohingya refugee issue and would continue to find ways to address it through the Asean mechanism.

"In Asean meetings, Malaysia repeatedly highlighted the interests of the grouping to address the humanitarian crisis in the Rakhine region (of Myanmar).

"Malaysia also repeatedly stressed that it can no longer take in more Rohingya refugees and urged the international community to... find a sustainable solution," he said, adding that there were an estimated 200,000 Rohingya refugees here.

He also noted that efforts to repatriate the refugees to other countries that were signatories to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, as well as related conventions, had been minimal.

"I can reveal here, in the last 18 years between 2003 and 2021, we only managed to send a total of 8,312 people to third countries such as Australia, Canada and Japan.

"The United States had taken the largest number totalling more than 7,000 while the lowest is Finland that only took one person in the last 18 years," he explained.

"The result is not very remarkable. So, we need to continue to work together with all the countries, especially Asean members," he said.