LANGKAWI: Asean Foreign Ministers have emphasized to Myanmar the importance of achieving peace in the country over holding a national election, according to Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.
"We heard they want to have an election. But, we told them, look, that is not our priority.
"Our priority is to stop the violence and reinstate peace," said Mohamad during a press conference after the Asean Foreign Ministers’ Retreat (AMM) on Sunday (Jan 19).
According to Mohamad, the Myanmar military has stated its readiness for polls, but he stressed that any election must be inclusive.
"The election has to involve all segments of stakeholders. But, if you want to have an election that only represents certain segments in Myanmar, I don’t think that is the priority," he added.
Mohamad emphasized that Asean wants Myanmar to establish a ceasefire and allow humanitarian aid to reach all segments of society.
"It is very simple. I don’t think it is a difficult task to fulfill. They have to fulfill their obligation as a member of Asean," he said.
In December last year, Myanmar announced the military junta’s 2025 election roadmap, which local opposition groups have rejected, questioning its legitimacy.
Representing Myanmar at the retreat was its permanent secretary to the Foreign Affairs Ministry Aung Kyaw Moe.
This is the second time Myanmar sent a senior government official as its representative to an Asean meeting.
Asean has barred Myanmar junta leaders from its summits following the February 2021 coup, but last year, for the first time in three years, Myanmar sent a senior foreign ministry official to an Asean summit in Vientiane, Laos.
Mohamad also discussed the appointment of former Human Rights Commission (Suhakam) chairman Tan Sri Othman Hashim and the importance of dialogue and diplomacy on the issue.
"That is why Othman can talk to each individual segment in Myanmar so that we know what they have in mind.
"Not knowing what they have in mind is difficult, we cannot simply impose (terms) on them. We want to know what they have in mind," said Mohamad.
Othman is the former secretary-general of the Foreign Ministry and has served as Ambassador of Malaysia to the Czech Republic, the Permanent Representative of Malaysia to the United Nations in Geneva, and as Ambassador of Malaysia to the United States.
Earlier, Mohamad mentioned suggestions to revisit the five-point consensus adopted in April 2021.
"But, there is a mandate by our leaders. Anything that we want to amend, we have to get a fresh mandate from our leaders.
"The five-point consensus is not that difficult. It is just a matter of stopping violence and hostility against their people," he said.
The Five-Point Consensus by Asean lays out a roadmap for peace, calling for an immediate cessation of violence, inclusive national dialogue, humanitarian assistance, and a peaceful resolution to the conflict.
However, the Five-Point Consensus has been criticized for being ineffective in stopping violence in Myanmar.
The Myanmar civil war was sparked by a coup d’état by its military junta in February 2021.
