Myanmar needs to engage with rest of Asean on refugee problem, says Anwar

JAKARTA: Malaysia does not view the Myanmar crisis lightly as it is causing difficulties and hardship on both sides, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

He expressed disappointment that there was slow progress on the issue despite the fact that Indonesia, currently the chair of Asean, had taken enormous and unprecedented steps.

"For now, I don't see an immediate resolution to the conflict.

"We can't take it lightly because there have been atrocities, although I accept that these are not necessarily inflicted only by the military junta, though they are responsible (for a large proportion).

"As I have said earlier and will reiterate, countries like Malaysia can't (treat) this as something usual.

"It has caused so much difficulty and hardship to our country too.

"I mentioned in the last few months the figure of refugees (from Myanmar) was closing towards 200,000 (in Malaysia alone) but now it has exceeded that," he said at the retreat programme during the 43rd Asean Summit and Related Summit on Tuesday (Sept 5).

The 43rd Asean Summit kicked off on Tuesday, with Myanmar's political crisis and the South China Sea disputes set to dominate discussions.

This is the second year in a row that Myanmar was not invited to the regional meeting, following the military coup in February 2021 which saw its elected leader, Nobel peace laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, ousted from power.

Anwar lamented that Myanmar had not been cooperative in any efforts to help refugees.

"This is a country that refuses to engage and accept these people back.

"I can understand if there are violent elements but many of them are just innocent victims," added Anwar.

He also said there was no problem if any Asean member country wished to engage with Myanmar unilaterally as long as it subscribed fully to the five-point consensus reached within the grouping.

Thailand’s outgoing military-led government broke ranks with the bloc, which collectively had decided to suspend Myanmar’s generals from top meetings.

On Indo-Pacific matters, the Prime Minister said it was positive that more countries were engaging with Asean, and hoped that this would focus on trade and investment as well as collaboration.

"I think instead of using the forum to insist on their own agenda, we should make it clear from the beginning that they should respect the Asean sense of neutrality, that we will not... be forced to take positions outside the scope and parameters of Asean," he said.