Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad was due to arrive in Yangoon later today for a two-day trip which comes at a critical time for Burma's junta as it prepares to embark on a national reconciliation process.

Some 300 officials and businesspeople are accompanying Mahathir on what is being billed as a business visit arranged to reciprocrate Burmese leader Senior General Than Shwe's trip to Malaysia last year.

But the visit is likely to cover more than just business, given the close ties between Mahathir and Than Shwe, whose regime is expected to soon begin a political dialogue with democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi.