MP SPEAKS | I am deeply concerned by the decision of the Asean chair to convene an informal meeting between Asean foreign ministers and the Myanmar junta’s appointed so-called foreign minister tomorrow.

This meeting means Asean is normalising its relations with the junta that has consistently shown contempt for the bloc’s efforts to resolve Myanmar’s crisis that is caused by the junta.

I have long argued, including when I was foreign minister, that the Asean Five-Point Consensus (5PC) is insufficient to resolve the crisis. In fact, I have informally proposed “a new framework with a clear end game” as a new or complementary way to solve the crisis.

The junta have ignored Asean’s calls for dialogue, intensified violence against civilians, and its junta-controlled Parliament has on July 9 formally passed a motion rejecting the 5PC itself. If the junta rejects even Asean’s minimum proposal, why is the bloc rewarding that behaviour with higher levels of engagement?

On June 25, in Parliament, I cautioned the foreign minister that his recent meeting with the junta’s so-called foreign minister is seen as Malaysia normalising relations with the junta. Now, I question the silence of the Malaysian government about the meeting.

I hereby urge the foreign minister to not attend this meeting. I texted him on this matter last night.

Malaysia should not support the meeting. Because the meeting simply cancels the objectives championed by Malaysia when it was Asean chair, where Malaysia engaged the National Unity Government, the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, Ethnic Resistance Organisations, Consultative Councils (including Rohingya representatives), and other democratic stakeholders.

Exclusion of Rohingya

Today, there is a growing concern that the junta is succeeding in its divide-and-rule strategy, i.e. expanding its political legitimacy while narrowing Asean’s engagement with Myanmar’s democratic movement. Asean and Malaysia should not allow themselves to be fooled and fall into its trap.

Equally troubling is the total exclusion of Rohingya representatives from the upcoming meetings. For Malaysia, this is not a peripheral issue. We continue to host over 100,000 Rohingya refugees because Myanmar’s junta denied them citizenship, persecuted them and drove them from their homeland. And Malaysians are now asking: for how long?

How does engaging the junta without meaningful Rohingya participation advance Malaysia’s objective of restoring Rohingya citizenship, guaranteeing equal rights, and creating the conditions for safe, voluntary, and dignified repatriation?

The junta that committed genocide against the Rohingya cannot credibly be the sole interlocutor in resolving the crisis it created.

Ultimately, this is about Asean’s and Malaysia’s credibility.

SAIFUDDIN ABDULLAH is the Indera Mahkota MP and a former foreign minister.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.