Malaysia hosted Myanmar's junta chief-turned-President Min Aung Hlaing on Thursday, saying it aimed to reintegrate the country with Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN, but made clear the visit did not amount to recognition for the military-backed government.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim pledged to continue working with Myanmar on tasks such as the repatriation of thousands of its nationals, a move criticised by the United Nations and rights groups concerned about the risks stemming from civil war.
"Malaysia will do whatever is possible to make sure that we ... ultimately, take Myanmar as part of our community of nations, without prejudice, and particularly in the context of ASEAN," Anwar told media after meeting Min Aung Hlaing.
The Myanmar leader's two-day visit aims to build greater international legitimacy after Min Aung Hlaing became president in April following an election criticised as a sham by rights groups and Western nations.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since 2021, when Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup against a democratically elected government, unleashing armed conflict across much of the country.
ASEAN barred Min Aung Hlaing and senior Myanmar officials from its summits for not adhering to an ASEAN-brokered peace plan after the coup.
But some member nations, such as Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, have sought to re-establish ties.
Anwar acknowledged concerns about Myanmar's democratic processes but called for differences to be respected, adding that Min Aung Hlaing had shown willingness to be collaborative.
Malaysian government spokesperson Fahmi Fadzil denied that Min Aung Hlaing's visit amounted to recognition of Myanmar's government, however, state news agency Bernama said.
"This meeting does not mean we recognise the Myanmar government," Fahmi, who is communications minister, was quoted as saying. "It is intended to find a solution to the long-standing issue of Myanmar refugees in our country."
Myanmar to send more navy ships to repatriate its citizens
Anwar also expressed appreciation to Min Aung Hlaing for accepting the return home of 10,493 Myanmar nationals from Malaysia.
Malaysia has said it can no longer take in refugees from Myanmar, citing the financial burden and security risk. As it is not a party to the UN refugee convention, Malaysia treats asylum-seekers as illegal migrants.
Last month it sent back about 1,500 people on Myanmar naval ships, part of a wider repatriation effort to deport as many as 5,000.
Myanmar citizens held in Malaysian immigration centres would be taken home as soon as possible, Min Aung Hlaing said.
"Because the current weather is favourable, I will dispatch navy ships to repatriate them," he told Thursday's briefing,
adding that he would invite Anwar to visit when the time was right.
The leaders did not say if their talks covered repatriation plans for Rohingya Muslim refugees, many of whom fled Myanmar after a brutal 2017 military crackdown in western Rakhine state.
Muslim-majority Malaysia widely criticised the crackdown at the time. But public sentiment has turned in recent years, with increasing harassment and scrutiny of Rohingya in Malaysia amid a surge of online hate speech and misinformation.
Anwar has said he would push for Myanmar to accept Rohingya refugees. Malaysia was hosting about 193,000 refugees and asylum seekers from Myanmar as of February, about 65% of them Rohingya, UN data shows.
Buddhist-majority Myanmar does not recognise the Rohingya as one of its official ethnic groups and denies citizenship to most.
ASEAN urged not to legitimize Myanmar leader
Myanmar's pro-democracy activists and resistance groups have repeatedly urged ASEAN to refrain from conferring political legitimacy on Min Aung Hlaing's presidency.
"His legitimacy is a nightmare for the whole nation, for the people who have ... sacrificed their homes," Swam Saung, a member of the Myanmar Affairs Alliance, told a gathering in Kuala Lumpur, the capital.
He also expressed fear for those repatriated, saying they could face forced conscription in the military conflict with ethnic armed groups.
Malaysia has traditionally upheld principles of humanitarian values, democracy, and human rights during engagements on Myanmar within ASEAN, an umbrella group of Myanmar armed ethnic groups and democratic bodies said.
"Hosting of Min Aung Hlaing at the head-of-state level stands in direct contradiction to these established principles," the Steering Council for the Emergence of a Federal Democratic Union, added in a statement.
Main photo: Myanmar’s President Min Aung Hlaing (L) shakes hands with Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim during a welcome ceremony at the prime minister’s office in Putrajaya on October 8.//AFP
