exclusive Despite criticism over his involvement in a company that does business with the Burmese government, United Nations special envoy to Burma Razali Ismail maintained that he is still qualified as facilitator in the Burmese peace talks since he had never discussed business with the military leaders.

In an exclusive interview with malaysiakini last Friday, Razali explained that Iris Technologies, a company in which he has a 30 percent stake, had established a general interest in Burma even prior to his appointment as special envoy.

"Iris' interest in (Burma) happened before I became the special envoy but it was a general interest. Then it developed into something specific.

"I have never once spoken to the leaders in (Burma) about Iris," he said.

He claimed that opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi herself had no problems with his involvement in Iris when he spoke to her about it.

"She has complete trust in my integrity," he said.

However, Razali was quick to add that regardless of whether he had the trust of others, what mattered ultimately was whether he was confident that he was right for the job.

"At the end of the day, you have to think if you are qualified or not. If you are no longer qualified because of certain involvement, you should step down. I think I am qualified."

Razali's part ownership of Iris Technologies was first revealed last May when a Rangoon-based newspaper reported a deal for the Malaysian company to supply 5,000 electronic passports to the Burmese government.

In the ensuing controversy, the UN secretary-general's office said it was satisfied that there was no conflict of interest in Razali's dual role, and that Razali's contract with the organisation did not carry any restrictions on business activities.

Disappointed with Asean

Meanwhile, Razali said the UN continues to approve of his efforts to push forward the Burmese reconciliation process.

"Every six months they come and say please do it for another six months. Basically, while some people raised their eyebrows, nobody wanted me to actually drop this. In fact, I got another contract recently, without asking," he said.

The UN envoy, however, expressed disappointment with Asean leaders for not doing more to encourage progress in the Burmese talks.

"(The Eight Asean Summit in Phnom Penh) has just taken place. I do not know how many leaders took the trouble to talk about this quietly," he said.

Razali said that while respecting Asean's principle of non-interference, it is still possible for the individual leaders to express their views, in a similar manner as Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

"I think (Mahathir) has done a huge amount of work in trying to help the UN and bring about a situation of national reconciliation in (Burma) at the highest level...As far as the other Asean leaders are concerned, I am somewhat surprised that they have not expended energy to that extent," he said.

During a high-level official visit in August, Mahathir was said to have urged Burma's generals to engage in dialogue with opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Sense in meeting

Initially expected to meet with Suu Kyi, Mahathir left Burma instead with a message from the military government that it would only proceed with change at its own pace.

Asked why the proposed meeting did not materialise, Razali declined to provide any reasons but added that it made sense for the two leaders to meet.

"I was told that Suu Kyi wanted to meet with (Mahathir) and (Mahathir) also would have liked to meet with her...I think it would help the government of (Burma) and Suu Kyi in their understanding and perspective of the issues.

"I am surprised that they have not met. I do not want to speculate on why (but)..I think it makes a lot of sense for them to meet," he said.

Razali is due to arrive in Rangoon today on his ninth visit to Burma since his appointment as special envoy two years ago.

He is expected to revitalise the move towards a dialogue between the military government and Suu Kyi which had stalled after initial optimism over the opposition leader's release from house arrest in May.

In 1990, Suu Kyi and her National League of Democracy won a landside victory in democratic elections but this was not recognised by the country's military junta.

Razali Ismail's Q&A: Asean leaders should have done more about Burma