Burma is increasingly feeling the heat as Rangoon prepares to take over the chairmanship of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) next year.

Malaysia's Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang today lend his weight in the growing demand for Burma - renamed Myanmar by the military regime - to be denied the regional bloc's chairmanship.

"What Myanmar is facing is not just opposition from the United States and the European Union, but opposition from Asean parliamentarians and civil society, particularly in the original five Asean founding nations of Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Philippines and Singapore," he said in a press statement.

He described Burma as a "millstone around the neck of Asean" and warned that the rouge nation was becoming an "international liability" to Asean.

Burma is next in line to assume the chair, which is rotated every year according to the alphabetical order. It will take over from 2005 chair, Malaysia.

Many in Asean have expressed concerns over the likely impact on ties between the regional bloc and its key trading partners - the United States and European Union, both of which are critical of the military regime.

It is expected that both the US and EU would boycott Asean meetings held in Burma as Asean's chair, thus putting an additional strain on Asean-US/EU ties.

Hot topic

At the Asean foreign ministers' retreat in Cebu, Philippines yesterday, the participants could not avoid touching on the hot topic despite it not being part of the official agenda.

According to Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar, the foreign ministers discussed the matter for about 45 minutes over a coffee break during their meeting.

Syed Hamid said Burma's Foreign Minister U Nyan Win had taken the opportunity to explain his government's stand on the matter.

"We gave our views and expressed concern about the developments in Myanmar (such as the road map to democracy) and he took note of our views and agreed to convey them to the leadership of Myanmar," Syed Hamid was quoted as saying by Bernama .

"I think the Myanmar foreign minister knows the views of the civil society within Asean and the views of the parliament members of each of the Asean countries ... and I think that itself sends a message to Myanmar to make its own decision," he said at a packed press conference held at the end of the retreat.

Unprecedented motion

Malaysia's Parliament will this month discuss a resolution moved by Zaid Ibrahim , a backbencher from the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition who heads the Asean Inter-Parliamentarian Caucus on Democracy in Burma - a regional body of parliamentarians seeking reforms in the military-ruled nation.

The motion calls for, among others, the release of Burma's opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and for the military regime to fully implement its ' seven-point road map to democracy '.

It also seeks an endorsement from the Malaysian Parliament that Burma be denied from holding the Asean chairmanship until Burma releases all political detainees and introduces democratic reforms.

The only way out for Burma is to either adopt the measures demanded by the region's parliamentarians or to decline the Asean chairmanship - something which the military junta would hate to do given the prestige the post will bring.

The military regime has recently vowed that it would not bow to international pressure over its intention to take over the Asean chair.

However, the final decision may rests with Asean members.

According to Syed Hamid, a formal decision on Burma's chairmanship would be made at the Asean Ministerial Meeting in Laos this July.