Myanmar resistance condemn Min Aung Hlaing visit as Malaysia pledges ASEAN reintegration

The Steering Council for the Emergence of a Federal Democratic Union (SCEF)—Myanmar’s premier resistance coalition formed on March 30—requested the Malaysian government not to give legitimacy to regime leader Min Aung Hlaing in a statement released on Thursday. 

It comes after Min Aung Hlaing was welcomed to Putrajaya by Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. The two-day visit, on Oct. 7-8, could amount to legitimizing the regime, which seized power during the military coup on Feb. 1, 2021.

Prime Minister Anwar told Min Aung Hlaing that his government would do “whatever possible” to ensure Myanmar ​was re-integrated into the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), amid warnings by pro-democracy activists against legitimizing Min Aung Hlaing as Myanmar’s elected leader.

Malaysia is the latest stop for Min Aung Hlaing in his quest for international legitimacy since he was inaugurated as president by a pro-military parliament on April 10. Besides Malaysia, the regime leader has visited other ASEAN member states such as Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand.

ASEAN has barred senior regime officials, including Min Aung Hlaing, from attending high-level summits and meetings due to his refusal to implement its Five Point Consensus, a peace plan agreed to in April 2021 but never implemented upon his return to Myanmar.

On July 31, Min Aung Hlaing dismissed the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus, stating it wasn’t the “consensus” of the 1o other member states.

The SCEF was established by groups representing elected lawmakers ousted in the 2021 coup such as the National Unity Government (NUG), the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), which consists of elected members of the National League for Democracy (NLD) administration who either fled underground or into exile to avoid arrest and persecution by the regime.

It also includes four key ethnic armed organizations: the Karen National Union (KNU), the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), and the Chin National Front (CNF).

Thailand pledged its support for restoring Myanmar to “full and equal participation” at ASEAN in a joint statement between Thai Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul and Min Aung Hlaing in Bangkok on Aug. 6.