M'sia under fire after ambassador meets with Myanmar junta minister
Read more: Meeting does not mean recognition of Myanmar junta - Wisma Putra
Malaysia has come under criticism after its ambassador to Myanmar met with a member of the military junta government.
The meeting between ambassador Zahairi Baharin and the junta's Electricity and Energy Minister Aung Than Oo reportedly occurred yesterday...
Malaysia has come under criticism after its ambassador to Myanmar met with a member of the military junta government.
The meeting between ambassador Zahairi Baharim (photo, left) and the junta's Electricity and Energy Minister Aung Than Oo reportedly occurred yesterday.
Clips of the meeting aired on a TV station owned by the Tatmadaw (Myanmar military), snapshots of which were tweeted by Free Rohingya Coalition co-founder Ro Nay San Lwin, have since gone viral.
According to a report by the state-owned Mynamar News Agency, among the issues discussed at the meeting were Petronas operations in the country, including hiring more Myanmar nationals and the possibility of having them go to Malaysian universities for post-graduate courses and training.
This is after Petronas ceased operations in offshore Myanmar due to depletion of gas production at three blocks at the Yetagun field.
Also reportedly discussed were investment opportunities and further cooperation between the two countries in the electricity and energy sector.
Read more: Meeting does not mean recognition of Myanmar junta - Wisma Putra
According to Ro Nay, Zahairi is the first Asean ambassador to have a meeting with the junta.
However, it should be noted that representatives from Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam were present at a Tatmadaw parade in the Myanmar capital two weeks ago.
Southeast Asia political analyst Bridget Welsh said Zahairi's meeting with Oo gave legitimacy to the junta.
"This endorsement of the government engaged in crimes against humanity conflicts with other statements by Malaysian leaders and speaks to a worrying shift in Asean," she tweeted.
A spokesperson for the Milk Tea Alliance Network for Malaysia likewise told Malaysiakini that the meeting legitimised the junta and was also confusing.
"It's confusing as Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has been playing a leading role with Brunei to organise Asean conversations around the killings in Myanmar, MPs have called for the removal of Myanmar's Asean membership and Foreign Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has condemned the coup - all good things but (the ambassador's meeting) confuses things," the spokesperson added.
The Milk Tea Alliance is a loose coalition of pro-democracy activists from across Southeast Asia and East Asia that is slowly expanding across the world.
The group's Malaysia spokesperson said they hoped that there would be a reasonable explanation over the meeting.
"We hope to receive an explanation and we give the benefit of the doubt that there is a reasonable explanation, for example, someone has pointed out that Petronas has halted its work in Myanmar," they said.
The spokesperson added that Putrajaya should seek to legitimise the Myanmar government in exile and take a strong stance against the junta.
Meanwhile, former ambassador Dennis Ignatius said it was time for Malaysia and Asean to deliver an ultimatum to the junta to restore Myanmar's democratically-elected government - or be expelled from Asean.
"It is simply scandalous that Malaysia and other Asean countries have not come out more forcefully against Myanmar’s military regime.
"How many more lives have to be lost before Asean finds the courage and the moral conscience to act?
"And if Asean does not have the courage of its convictions to do so, Malaysia must act alone and immediately break off diplomatic relations with Myanmar," he told Malaysiakini.
He added that ending diplomatic ties with the junta would be the least Malaysia could do for the long-suffering of Myanmar's people.
Malaysiakini has contacted Hishammuddin for comment.
Previously, Muhyiddin had condemned the Tatmadaw's violent crackdown against protesters while also calling for the release of detained political leaders such as Aung San Suu Kyi.
He also backed calls for an Asean summit to address the situation in Myanmar.
In a statement today, the Pakatan Harapan secretariat called on Putrajaya to explain their stance on the military government following the ambassador's meeting with the junta minister.
"The Malaysian ambassador's meeting with the junta - especially since Malaysia's stance on Myanmar political detainees and the Asean summit has not changed - has created the perception that Malaysia recognises the military government.
"This does not help with restoring democracy to Myanmar. As such, we urge the foreign minister (Hishammuddin) to give an explanation," said Harapan.
The statement was signed by PKR information chief Shamsul Iskandar Md Akin, Amanah communications director Khalid Samad, and DAP political education director Liew Chin Tong.
Additional reporting by Vivian Yap.
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