KL backs call for emergency Asean summit on Myanmar

KUALA LUMPUR • Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has expressed support for Indonesian President Joko Widodo's call to hold an emergency Asean summit to address the situation in Myanmar.

Tan Sri Muhyiddin said in a statement on Friday that the persistent use of lethal violence against unarmed civilians was unacceptable, and urged Myanmar's military leadership "to change its course and choose a path towards peaceful solutions".

"Only through an open, sincere and honest discussion will we be able to enhance Asean's role to assist Myanmar in finding a way out of the current crisis expediently," he said.

"We in Malaysia, and the larger Asean community, cannot afford to see our brotherly nation of Myanmar become so destabilised at the hands of a selected few, who seek to promote their own vested interests."

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the military ousted elected civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Feb 1, triggering a mass uprising that security forces have sought to crush with a campaign of violence and fear.

Mr Widodo on Friday called for democracy to be restored and violence to be halted in Myanmar, and for South-east Asian leaders to hold a high-level meeting to discuss the situation there.

"I will immediately call the Sultan of Brunei Darussalam as head of Asean to, as soon as possible, hold a high-level Asean meeting to discuss the crisis in Myanmar," Mr Widodo said in a virtual address.

Brunei is currently chair of the 10-member Asean.

REUTERS