Malaysia opened its first Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting of the year with the Foreign Ministers’ Retreat in Langkawi on Saturday. Myanmar’s crisis, which has engulfed the nation since the 2021 military coup, was discussed Jan. 18-19. Regime Permanent Secretary to ASEAN Aung Kyaw Moe addressed the delegates about its tentative plan for elections in November.
“We emphasized that the election must be inclusive and involve all stakeholders, not conducted in isolation,” stated Malaysia’s Foreign Minister Mohamad Hasan. “We made it clear that the election is not our priority. Our main concern is to end the violence.” Malaysia Foreign Ministry Secretary General Amran Mohammed Zin told the media that the effort of ASEAN is focused on resolving Myanmar’s crisis.
Reuters reported that Malaysia appointed diplomat Othman Hashim as the ASEAN Special Envoy for Myanmar on Sunday. Othman is the former secretary general of Malaysia’s foreign ministry and was selected to try to implement the ASEAN Five Point Consensus, a peace plan agreed to by Min Aung Hlaing but not implemented upon his return to Myanmar in April 2021.
Malaysia, who facilitated Myanmar’s entry into ASEAN as chair in 1997, is planning to adopt a more proactive approach as the 2021 coup has fuelled the rise of criminal activities, online cyber scams, and human trafficking along the country’s borders. But it has yet to reach out to the civilian-led National Unity Government (NUG) nor ethnic armed groups, which have led the uprising and mounting resistance to the 2021 coup.
Malaysia will host more than 300 meetings and summits throughout the year under the theme “Inclusivity and Sustainability.” Previously, Malaysia chaired ASEAN in 1977, 1997, 2005 and 2015.