Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was urged today to bring the issue of the Burma crisis to the fore in his address to the UN General Assembly today.

Parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang said the time for merely issuing strong statements is over and it has been overtaken by the violence perpetrated by the Burmese security and enforcement personnel.

Deliberations need to be conducted by the international community to prevent a repeat of the 1988 massacre, said Lim in reference to the death of about 3,000 pro-democracy activists and their supporters at the hands of the military.

Abdullah should place Burma as the top priority of address to the UN and, together with other Asean leaders, rally international support for a special debate in the General Assembly as well as an emergency meeting of the Security Council on the violent crackdown in Burma.

The uprising of the anti-junta protests began when more than 100,000 Buddhist monks and their supporters flooded the streets of Burma's biggest city Rangoon on Monday

The violence began two days ago later when the security forces fired tear gas and live bullets into the streets and beat protesters.

Craft joint response

According to AFP, at least nine more people were killed yesterday, including a Japanese journalist, while hundreds more have been arrested.

"Asean leaders cannot just wring their hands in impotence and revulsion with another round of violent crackdown of peaceful protestors in Burma," said Lim in a statement today.

"They should work with China, India, Russia, United States and European Union to craft a joint response to end the spiral of violence by the Burmese military," he added.

The crackdown has triggered protests and demonstrations throughout the world.

In Kuala Lumpur this morning, about 2,000 people - mostly Burmese migrants - marched to the Burmese Embassy off Jalan Ampang demanding the end of military rule and the violence against the peaceful demonstrators.