OPPONENTS of the meeting between our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the Myanmar junta leader Min Aung Hlaing are overlooking the key reason that our premier has chosen the path of engagement.
It is vital to recognise that PM Anwar went to the meeting in Thailand with the knowledge and approval of Asean leaders, to extend further humanitarian assistance to the people of Myanmar following the devastating earthquake last month which claimed the lives of over 5,350 Myanmar nationals.
Most notably ex-foreign minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Abdullah called it a “step in the wrong direction”.
Perhaps he is just trying to score political points because it’s clear that our prime minister’s rationale for reaching out is about helping the common people and not to legitimise the Myanmar coup that unfolded in February 2021.
This should be clear as Anwar said he would urge the Myanmar junta to extend the current ceasefire to allow humanitarian aid to reach victims of the recent earthquake.
He also repeated that Asean remains committed to the Five-Point Consensus as the basis for engagement with Myanmar and that the meeting was being held purely on humanitarian grounds.
Let’s not forget that the most important thing is to help the people of Myanmar and that is why we are leading efforts to reach out to them, including via a temporary field hospital run by the Malaysian armed forces.
Perhaps before claiming the moral high ground, Saifuddin needs to be reminded that thousands of Myanmar nationals were deported from Malaysia to face possibly dire consequences in their home country during his tenure as communications minister under Muhyiddin Yassin and foreign minister under Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
I also note his call that Malaysia and Asean should engage Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG) and National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC), as well as the nation’s public stakeholders, and would like to emphasise that helping the common people of that country is not a repudiation of the government in exile.
In the short term, what is needed for the common people of Myanmar is immediate assistance, not political posturing by our opposition. – April 18, 2025
Taufiq Johari is Sg Petani MP and Kedah PKR Youth chief