Myanmar's military rulers should take steps towards national reconciliation before pro-democracy protests potentially blow up into turmoil, Malaysia's foreign minister Syed Hamid Albar warned.

Speaking a day after more than 100,000 Buddhist monks and their supporters flooded the streets of Myanmar's biggest city Yangon on Monday, he said the military junta "must now take notice" of "the aspirations of the people.

"We believe that reconciliation is the best process for peaceful transition to democracy," Syed Hamid told AFP on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly which he is attending.

The minister cautioned that if the junta did not take "appropriate measures" to bring about change, the protests could turn into "turmoil" and affect the neighbouring Southeast Asian nations.

Syed Hamid said Myanmar could not afford to delay reform.

"If it is done too slowly, to the extent that people do not see any movement, then they take the law into their own hands and this usually results in dire consequences.

"It is worrying when lots of people go on the streets. What would be the reaction of the government, what will happen to the ordinary people?" he asked.

"It is best that they proceed on the reconciliation process so that they do not have to be forced into a situation where there can be very serious repercussions," he added.

Syed Hamid last year visited Myanmar as an envoy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to check on the country's reform efforts amid global criticism of the junta's rights abuses but was not allowed to meet with democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi.

The visit apparently stalled over his insistence on meeting the Nobel Peace Prize winner, who has spent most of the last 17 years in jail or under house arrest.

Myanmar is a member of ASEAN, which also comprises Brunei, Indonesia, Cambodia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

Syed Hamid and his Myanmar and other ASEAN counterparts attending the UN talks are scheduled to meet here on Thursday when he said the latest developments in the tightly-run state would be discussed.

The ASEAN ministers are also scheduled to meet with US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the same day.

"Among other things, Secretary Rice will press for ASEAN leverage to end the crackdown in Burma and to initiate genuine democratic reforms in Burma," Assistant Secretary of State Kristen Silverberg said, using Myanmar's former name.

US President George W. Bush will announce new US sanctions against Myanmar's military rulers on Tuesday and call for more international pressure on the repressive regime, the White House said Monday.

Political and economic sanctions so far by the United States and the European Union have failed to force any change in Myanmar, which enjoys good ties with its giant neighbours China and India.