Burma's Prime Minister Khin Nyunt was given a red-carpet welcome on his first official visit to Malaysia today, despite criticism of Rangoon's approach to democratic reform.

The powerful general, who took on the role of premier last August, inspected a guard of honour outside the office of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in this administrative capital south of Kuala Lumpur before the two men headed off for an official luncheon.

They were to hold a half-hour private meeting later before talks between officials. Khin Nyunt arrived with a delegation of 23, including the ministers of foreign affairs, commerce, tourism and energy.

Visit a 'courtesy call'

Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar described the visit as a "courtesy call" in the tradition of new leaders visiting fellow member states of the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). Khin Nyunt is due to visit Thailand on Friday.

Pressed at a news conference on Malaysia's approach to the political deadlock in Burma, Syed Hamid said: "In today's world of interdependency and globalisation, no one country can live in isolation or close its views to impact from outside.

"I think the most important thing is that Burma has given its undertaking that it's moving towards the process of democratisation and reconciliation. They want to do it their way and Asean has always constructively engaged them singly as well as in a group.

"I think Burma understands the feelings of Asean countries as a whole, and they know what is our view."

Shortly after his appointment last year, Khin Nyunt announced a seven-step "roadmap to democracy" billed as culminating with free and fair elections at an unspecified date.

But the first step in the roadmap, a constitutional convention which began on May 17, has been boycotted by the democratic opposition and called a sham by the United States and international rights groups.

Thorn in Asean's side

The opposition National League for Democracy (NLD) has boycotted the meeting because Burma's 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 earlier this month a way should be found for the NLD to attend the talks, adding that the junta should "be serious" about engaging with Aung San Suu Kyi ( photo ), a Nobel Peace laureate.

Malaysia, under former prime minister Mahathir Mohamad, played a key role in bringing Burma into Asean in 1997, despite international criticism of the military junta's failure to accept the results of 1990 elections which the NLD won by a landslide.

The Burmese issue has been a thorn in the side of the Southeast Asian grouping ever since, and Mahathir himself said last year that Rangoon might have to be expelled if it continued to defy world pressure to release Aung San Suu Kyi.

But Syed Hamid indicated today that Abdullah was unlikely to put any pressure on Khin Nyunt. "Let it be clear that this visit is a courtesy visit, that is the tradition of Asean, on their new appointment, they call on each other. - AFP