Jakarta, The Indonesia Post – Malaysia supports the process of resolving the Myanmar crisis which is carried out jointly with member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and in accordance with the agreed consensus.
Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dato’ Seri Diraja Dr. Zambry Abd Kadir said Malaysia firmly rejected any form of meeting with parties in Myanmar that was carried out unilaterally without involving ASEAN member countries.
“Meetings or engagements with the Myanmar side should involve all ASEAN members according to the consensus,” Dato’ Seri Zambry told reporters after the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting in Jakarta, Tuesday.
“This effort requires commitment from member countries to give that trust to Indonesia as Chair of ASEAN,” he continued.
He added that Malaysia gave full trust to Indonesia to carry out any efforts that had been mutually agreed upon in handling the Myanmar issue, including the Five Point Consensus.
Dato’ Seri Zambry continued that no country or any party should hold a counter-meeting outside ASEAN, because according to him this effort would not produce the expected results.
Also read: Thailand is trying to find another approach to solving the Myanmar issue
ASEAN was divided when the Thai government last month held a meeting inviting representatives of the Myanmar junta, which has been sidelined at ASEAN meetings since the February 2021 coup.
However, some ASEAN members refused to attend due to their disapproval of the meeting.
Thailand has justified the meeting, saying dialogue with the junta was necessary to protect its country, which shares a long border with Myanmar.
Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi previously said that Indonesia would continue to encourage dialogue in resolving the Myanmar crisis.
Through the office of the ASEAN special envoy, Indonesia has approached ethnic resistance organizations (EROs), political representatives, and civil society organizations in Myanmar.
“Engagements are not a goal but a tool to achieve a goal, namely inclusive dialogue to achieve long-lasting peace,” said Retno at a press conference on July 7. (mhn/bbs)
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