Malaysia said today that Burma must not do anything to jeopardise hopes for democracy amid fears the ruling junta is moving to outlaw the political party of detained opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

"They have to take very careful steps because anything that is seen as retrogressing or going backward will be looked at negatively," warned Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar.

Syed Hamid visited Burma in March as an envoy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) amid increasing concern over the Asean member's refusal to introduce reforms, but was denied a meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi.

He urged the ruling generals to work with the Nobel peace laureate's National League for Democracy (NLD) which won 1990 elections in a landslide but was never allowed to rule.

"We believe that the party has got membership, the support of the people, and it's good for them to be engaged with, rather than to just abolish them or deregister them," Syed Hamid told reporters.

Burma's military junta said last month that it had been gathering evidence of the NLD's links with "terrorist groups". Analysts said this was a warning it could eventually move to ban the party, the main pro-democracy voice.

Want more progress

When asked if the situation in Myanmar (Burma) was worsening, Syed Hamid said: "We would like to see more progress... but the process is seen not to be moving in the way that the international community expects them to move.

"Any action they take, like closing down the NLD or not releasing Aung San Suu Kyi, these are all impediments and obstacles to creating visible signs of credibility in terms of the movement towards democracy."

Syed Hamid said Asean wanted to play a role in Burma's development because it was part of the regional "family", but the bloc could not allow its recalcitrant member to harm its reputation.

"We must make sure that Asean is not dragged into negative perceptions because of what is perceived to be happening in Myanmar," he said.

Syed Hamid said Asean foreign ministers who discussed the issue at their retreat in Bali last month wanted to see more "visible signs" of change in Burma.

"We want them to take actions, we would like to see the release of Aung San Suu Kyi and even though we do not want to interfere in their affairs, they are not helping us in creating that necessary confidence," he said.

The junta launched a "road map" to democracy two years ago but has yet to make any tangible progress towards ending 44 years of military rule in the impoverished country.