‘Stop the violence’: ASEAN tells Myanmar to prioritise peace over holding elections, says bloc chair Malaysia

LANGKAWI: The priority of Myanmar’s military government should be to reinstate peace and not hold elections that would further foster divisions in the war-torn country, said Malaysia’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mohamad Hasan on Sunday (Jan 19). 

Mohamad was speaking during a press conference at the conclusion of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers’ Retreat in Langkawi, where the bloc also discussed closer integration amid heightened geopolitical risks. Malaysia is the 2025 ASEAN chair. 

When asked if ASEAN was aware of Myanmar’s plans to hold country-wide polls this year, Mohamad said that the bloc was cognisant of this while stressing that member states believe the bigger objective is to end the violence. 

“Elections have to be inclusive, and cannot be done in isolation. It has to involve all … stakeholders,” said Mohamad. 

“The priority is to stop the violence, reinstate peace in Myanmar,” he added. 

Mohamad also stressed that ASEAN has “no intention” to carve out Myanmar from the bloc, saying that this was an “old story” and that the bloc is instead determined to engage in peaceful dialogue with its leaders. 

“We are trying our very best to put our heads together, together with the dialogue partners and also the countries neighbouring Myanmar, (and propose) how best can we ensure stability and restore a democratic government,” added Mohamad. 

In 2023, Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said that ASEAN should “carve” Myanmar out “for now” rather than let the country’s crisis hinder the bloc. 

“We should carve Myanmar out for now, and I don’t think the Myanmar issue should frustrate our moves. It would be ideal if we could have just a strong consensus in giving a strong message to the Myanmar regime,” he reportedly said during an official visit to Thailand.

A NEW ASEAN ENVOY TO MYANMAR

Nearly four years since Myanmar was thrust into chaos following a military coup, the situation remains unstable as the junta battles ethnic minority armed groups for control of territory.

A peace effort by ASEAN known as the five-point consensus has made scant progress since its unveiling in April 2021, despite repeated calls for dialogue.

Mohamad said on Sunday that Malaysia has appointed former Malaysian diplomat Othman Hashim as ASEAN’s special envoy on the crisis in Myanmar.

Othman is the former secretary general of Malaysia's foreign ministry and was selected by Malaysia to try and implement ASEAN's peace plan in Myanmar. He is ASEAN’s fifth special envoy to Myanmar since the conflict started in 2021. 

Mohamad said Othman would visit Myanmar "soon".

ASEAN continues to bar the junta leadership from its summits over their failure to comply with the peace plan they had initially agreed to, which has vexed the bloc's most prominent countries.

Despite being battered on multiple frontlines, contending with a collapsing economy and dozens of political parties banned, the junta is pushing to hold an election in 2025 - an exercise widely derided by critics as a sham.

FACILITATING TIMOR-LESTE’S ACCESSION

During the press conference, Mohamad added that ASEAN foreign ministers welcomed Timor-Leste’s progress in implementing a roadmap for its full membership into the bloc. 

He added that the member countries were committed to facilitating Timor-Leste’s accession to ASEAN. 

“Many highlighted the need to support Timor-Leste’s efforts through capacity-building and specific technical support programmes,” said Mohamad. 

Timor-Leste participated in the retreat as an observer. It was represented by its Minister of Foreign Affairs Bendito dos Santos Freitas. 

Asia’s youngest country has been waiting to be a member of ASEAN since 2011. It was only in November 2022 during the chairmanship of Cambodia that the 10 ASEAN countries agreed in principle for Timor-Leste to join and granted it observer status.

In May 2023, the bloc adopted a roadmap for Timor-Leste’s full membership to support the nation in fulfilling the membership criteria.

In a recent exclusive interview with CNA, Timor-Leste’s President José Ramos-Horta expressed hope that his country could become ASEAN’s 11th member in 2025.

“We have made tremendous progress (since 2023),” said Ramos-Horta.

“At the same time, I think ASEAN leaders, most of them, all of them, realise that it is enough, what Timor-Leste has done to merit immediate membership. That it is not realistic, (or) even fair, to expect Timor-Leste to join ASEAN only when it has reached the level of Malaysia, Singapore or Thailand.”

A SINGLE ASEAN VISA FOR TOURISTS? 

At the same time, ASEAN nations are discussing ways to simplify cross-border travel between member states to facilitate ease of movement and promote tourism.

Malaysia’s Tourism, Arts, and Culture Minister Tiong King Sing said on Sunday that tourism is a vital pillar of economic growth in the region, hence improving cross-border collaboration is essential for creating a competitive and accessible tourism environment.

“We must simplify policies that will increase the number of tourists coming in. Of course, we cannot be tolerant on the security front but I believe this issue should be discussed further within our respective countries,” he said after chairing the 28th ASEAN tourism ministers’ meeting in Johor Bahru.

During the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Retreat press conference in Langkawi, Mohamad was asked if the proposal was realistic since some member countries might be unwilling to facilitate the movement of tourists beyond their respective borders as it could adversely impact their own tourism sectors. 

In response, the Malaysian foreign affairs minister stressed that the move would benefit all countries collectively as tourists would be able to visit multiple destinations across the different ASEAN countries.

“(For example), when (tourists) come to Malaysia, they will want to go to Singapore and after they enter Thailand they will want to enter Malaysia etc, but as it stands there are some restrictions for tourists administratively,” he said. 

He hinted at a single visa programme for ASEAN members, something that was proposed by then-Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin in April 2024 to boost tourist numbers and promote economic growth.

However, observers said the proposal faced challenges as there were concerns over visa overstays, illegal migrant workers and other national security issues.