Suu Kyi asks to meet Mahathir: official

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Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has requested a meeting with Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad during his visit to Rangoon in mid-August, a senior official said Monday.

The official said the possibility of a meeting was high but Malaysia would seek the approval of Burma's junta's first.

Mahathir, in power for 21 years and Asia's longest-serving leader, has not previously met Aung San Suu Kyi, leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD).

"It will be good if the meeting takes place as it will boost Mahathir's image and also that of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean)," the official said on condition of anonymity.

Malaysia is a close ally of Burma's in Asean, a 10-nation grouping which marks the 35th anniversary of its founding on August 8.

Mahathir is due to make a two-day official visit to Burma from Aug 18, accompanied by officials and businessmen.

Malaysia is the sixth largest investor in Burma, with more than RM2.2 billion (US$594 million) committed to 26 projects over the past 10 years.

Landmark reconciliation

United Nations special envoy Razali Ismail, a Malaysian, is currently in Burma on a five-day visit and was due to meet Aung San Suu Kyi late Monday.

Landmark reconciliation talks which Razali helped broker in October 2000 led to the May 6 release of Aung San Suu Kyi from 19 months of house arrest.

As a goodwill gesture leading up to his eighth mission to Burma, the junta released 43 political prisoners.

The opposition NLD won a landslide victory in 1990 but was prevented from taking power by the ruling military regime. AFP



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