KUALA LUMPUR — Aizat Shamsuddin, a regional analyst, urged Malaysia and its neighboring countries to reject the military junta's rule in Myanmar and oppose efforts to weaken international courts.
Shamsuddin called on Southeast Asian nations to refuse recognition of Min Aung Hlaing's leadership as legitimate. Min Aung Hlaing leads Myanmar's military, which seized power in a February 2021 coup that ousted the democratically elected government.
Shamsuddin also advocated rejecting initiatives to repatriate Rohingya Muslims to areas of active conflict within Myanmar. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have fled Myanmar's Rakhine State due to widespread violence and persecution, with most seeking refuge in Bangladesh.
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, of which Malaysia is a member, has pursued diplomatic solutions including a Five-Point Consensus adopted in April 2021, though progress has been limited.
Many Rohingya refugees remain unwilling to return without guarantees of safety and rights. Myanmar's Rakhine State continues to experience intermittent conflict between the military and ethnic armed organizations.
