VIENTIANE: The 44th and 45th Asean Summit and Related Summits kicks off today with Malaysia having urged Myanmar to take concrete measures to tackle its thriving transnational criminal activities that are affecting neighbouring countries.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, who wants the matter to be collectively addressed by all 10 Asean member states, urged Myanmar to adopt the Five-Point Consensus that it signed in April 2021.
“Myanmar has become the number one country in processing drugs, job scams, online gambling, among others, causing countries in South-East Asia to face problems that arise from its internal issues.
“We want the Myanmar issue to be addressed collectively with Asean member countries via the Five-Point Consensus,” he told reporters after attending the Asean Foreign Ministers’ Meeting here yesterday.
Over the years, various reports have noted rising transnational criminal activities in Myanmar such as drug manufacturing, human trafficking, scamming activities, and online gambling.
According to Mohamad, three countries – Laos, Indonesia and Malaysia – have been mandated by Asean to negotiate with Myanmar on the Five-Point Consensus.
“We are urging Myanmar to quickly accept our views. They cannot say they don’t accept the Five-Point Consensus.
“In 2021, Myanmar was a signatory to the Five-Point Consensus and this is the best platform to solve the ongoing crisis in Myanmar,” said Mohamad.
The Five-Point Consensus is a peace effort by Asean on Myanmar’s ongoing civil war, after its military ousted an elected civilian government.
It calls for an immediate end to violence, dialogue among all parties, appointment of a special envoy, allowing humanitarian assistance by Asean, as well as allowing the special envoy to visit Myanmar to meet with all parties.
Currently, the Myanmar junta has refused to engage in talks with its rivals, accusing them of being terrorists.
Asean barred Myanmar junta leaders from its summits after the February 2021 coup. But, for the first time in three years, Myanmar has sent a senior foreign ministry official as its representative to the three-day summit in Vientiane.
The ongoing conflict in Myanmar will be high on the agenda of the 44th and 45th Asean Summits and Related Summits that will end on Friday.
Yesterday, Mohamad also attended the 28th Asean Political Security Community Council Meeting and the 35th Asean Coordinating Council (ACC) Meeting.
Mohamad, also known as Tok Mat, said among the issues discussed at the meeting were ways to assist Timor-Leste in becoming a full member of Asean.
“There are many issues that Timor-Leste has to take note and make changes, especially with its policies,” he added.
But Mohamad also pointed out that it isn’t a simple matter to make Timor-Leste a full Asean member, as it requires a unanimous decision by all its 10 member countries.
“Decisions are made unanimously and sometimes that complicate matters, as there are one or two countries with different views. So, we are trying to achieve a consensus here to ensure Timor-Leste can be a full member of Asean, as it could bring added value to our huge Asean family,” he said.
Timor-Leste was granted official observer status and received in-principle approval to become a member of Asean during the regional annual summit in Cambodia in 2022.
In August, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi voiced Malaysia’s support for Timor-Leste to become a full member of Asean.
Established in 1967, Asean is a political and economic grouping of 10 countries – Malaysia, Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
