Myanmar leader to visit Malaysia 'in next few days': Anwar

Myanmar leader to visit Malaysia 'in next few days': Anwar KUALA LUMPUR: Myanmar leader Min Aung Hlaing will visit Malaysia "in the next few days", Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said on Tuesday (Oct 6), after Kuala Lumpur launched a plan to return thousands of Myanmar migrants. The visit, expected later this week, is part of a diplomatic push for legitimacy by Min Aung Hlaing, whose 2021 coup plunged Myanmar into civil war and who led the military during a 2017 crackdown that sent the Rohingya minority fleeing to Malaysia en masse. "During the visit of the President of Myanmar to Malaysia in the next few days, the foreign minister, the home minister, and I will raise issues towards a solution," Anwar told the Malaysian parliament. ASEAN's Five-Point Consensus Following a 2021 military coup, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has excluded Myanmar from high-level meetings as it has yet to make meaningful progress on the bloc's Five-Point Consensus to end hostilities. During a meeting in April 2021, all ASEAN leaders reached a consensus about the situation in Myanmar. The five points are: First, there shall be immediate cessation of violence in Myanmar and all parties shall exercise utmost restraint. Second, constructive dialogue among all parties concerned shall commence to seek a peaceful solution in the interests of the people. Third, a special envoy of the ASEAN chair shall facilitate mediation of the dialogue process, with the assistance of the secretary-general of ASEAN. Fourth, ASEAN shall provide humanitarian assistance through the AHA Centre. Fifth, the special envoy and delegation shall visit Myanmar to meet with all parties concerned. Discussions are expected to focus on Malaysia's plan, announced in July, to return about 5,000 Myanmar nationals, a move that has prompted concerns that Rohingya could be among those sent back. The first group of nearly 1,500 returnees arrived in Myanmar on Sunday, although Malaysia has not said how many Rohingya were among them.