"At present, once you become a member of Asean, generally it is a membership for life. There is no procedure or mechanism for dismissing or asking a member country to be suspended or expelled from the organisation".

So Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar has declared ahead of the Asean Regional Forum next Monday, apparently erasing any possibility that Burma would ever be expelled from Asean.

In essence, this signals to Burma that no matter how abusive, despotic, or evil their government has been and will continue to be, they will always be accepted as part of the Asean brethren.