KUALA LUMPUR: Any elections being held in conflict-stricken Myanmar must be impartial and inclusive, says Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.
The Foreign Minister said peace and the cessation of hostilities must be a priority before any elections take place.
"Elections have to be inclusive, including everybody and all political parties. All stakeholders must be able to participate.
"Any elections held without prior inclusive dialogue and political agreement with all Myanmar stakeholders are likely to worsen the conflict and not be seen as credible or legitimate," he said on the last day of the 58th Asean Foreign Ministers' Meeting (AMM) and Related Meetings here on Friday (July 11).
Mohamad also said he is scheduled to visit Nay Pyi Taw in the coming months.
Malaysia, he said, expressed concerns that the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus is still lacking.
He said three of the five points fall on stakeholders to implement them.
They are the cessation of hostilities and violence; inclusive dialogue including all parties concerned; and humanitarian assistance to the people of Myanmar.
"Malaysia has continuously called on the SAC, as the de-facto party in power, to show leadership and sincerity in committing towards peace and creating a conducive environment for inclusive political dialogue," he said.
The Myanmar civil war, which was sparked by the coup d'etat by its military junta in February 2021, has created lawless border regions that have allowed criminal syndicates to set up "scam parks", where foreign nationals are trafficked into the country and forced to commit scams.
Mohamad, who also co-chaired the 4th Ministerial Meeting of the Conference on Cooperation Among East Asian Countries for Palestinian Development (Ceapad), said assistance would be galvanised regionally to urgently address Palestine’s needs.
He said this will be done through the Kuala Lumpur Action Plan.
"This will guide Ceapad members in assisting Palestine in areas including humanitarian aid, reconstruction and state building," he said at a press conference.
As Asean chair, he called on the remaining 46 states that have yet to recognise the state of Palestine to do without any preconditions and support Palestine's admission as a full United Nations member.
Mohamad also announced that Malaysia would be contributing an additional US$1mil to be channelled to the UNRWA and the Palestinian Red Crescent.
This is on top of the previous US$16mil contribution channelled for the Palestinians since 2023.
