A way must be found for Burma's opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) to attend key constitutional talks that began today, Malaysia's Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said.

The NLD has boycotted the meeting because the Burmese military rulers refused to free its leader, democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, from house arrest or relax repressive rules surrounding the forum.

Syed Hamid said the NLD's absence was a "hiccup" that had to be addressed and the junta should be serious about engaging with Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace laureate.

"Hiccups do happen from time to time. In the process of trying to reconcile, the best thing is for them to find ways of making sure they attend," he told reporters.

"We have to know exactly what happen and why the party did not come. These are important steps that everyone must be involved in," he said.

On engaging with Aung San Suu Kyi, he said: "They have to be serious. It is important that the right moves are made."

Handpicked delegates

Aung San Suu Kyi was taken into custody one year ago after a clash between her supporters and a junta-backed mob.

The constitutional forum under way at a purpose-built venue north of Rangoon has drawn together more than 1,000 delegates, mostly handpicked by the government and from all walks of life including farmers, workers and academics.

The talks are the first step in the regime's "roadmap to democracy", which it says will end in free elections but has been dismissed as a sham by Washington and human rights groups. - AFP

The NLD won elections in 1990 but the junta refused to recognise the result.