MALAYSIA OFFERS TO HOST MYANMAR JUNTA CHIEF IN BID TO SPEED UP ROHINGYA REPATRIATION

Thu 17 September 2026:

Anwar Ibrahim says engagement with Min Aung Hlaing could help secure the return of Rohingya refugees to Myanmar

Malaysia has offered to invite Myanmar’s military ruler, Min Aung Hlaing, for an official visit as part of efforts to accelerate the repatriation of Rohingya refugees, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said Wednesday.

The proposal would represent another step toward greater international engagement for Min Aung Hlaing, the former general who seized power in a 2021 military coup and became president in April.

“I invited him to say we can be friends, we can trade, we can accept Myanmar, but Myanmar must accept them [Rohingya refugees] back,” Malaysia’s president said on a podcast.

Aung San Suu Kyi, Myanmar’s foreign minister and de facto leader, left walks with senior General Min Aung Hlaing, Myanmar’s commander-in-chief, right in the airport of capital Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Friday, May 6, 2016. Suu Kyi and Myanmar’s president Htin Kyaw left Myanmar on a one-day official visit to Laos, their first overseas tour since taking over power in March 2015.(AP Photo/Aung Shine Oo)

Anwar said Malaysia’s approach reflected a desire to find a practical solution to the long-running refugee crisis rather than relying solely on public criticism of Myanmar’s military authorities.

Malaysia has previously been among the strongest critics of Myanmar’s military government and has repeatedly called for an end to the fighting that has engulfed the country since the 2021 coup.

“To me, that’s better diplomacy than just shouting angrily at Myanmar. Who’s going to take them? Where do we ‌send ‌them? They don’t even have Myanmar citizenship,” he said, adding that a different approach was needed to resolve the issue.

The Malaysian prime minister also questioned how countries could negotiate with Myanmar while maintaining restrictions on direct engagement with its military authorities.

“We, following ASEAN, don’t want direct relations with Myanmar. So who are we ‌supposed to negotiate with?”

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Potential fifth ASEAN visit

If the offer is accepted, it would mark Min Aung Hlaing’s fifth visit to an ASEAN member state. He has recently travelled to Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam, as well as China, India and Russia.

The visits come amid continued efforts by Myanmar’s military leadership to secure international engagement following the 2021 coup.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has taken a cautious position toward Myanmar. The regional bloc has refused to recognise the military-backed election and has excluded Myanmar’s leaders from its summits since the coup.

Rohingya crisis remains central

The proposed diplomatic engagement is closely linked to the fate of the Rohingya, a predominantly Muslim minority that has faced decades of persecution and displacement in Myanmar.

The country’s civil war, which intensified following the military takeover, has killed an estimated 100,000 people, while Myanmar’s military has faced widespread accusations of atrocities against Rohingya communities. The military has denied those allegations.

The crisis reached a major international scale in 2017, when a military crackdown in Myanmar’s Rakhine State drove hundreds of thousands of Rohingya across the border into Bangladesh.

Malaysia has subsequently become an important destination for Rohingya fleeing persecution, despite not being a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and not formally recognising refugee status.

The country currently hosts more than 126,000 Rohingya from Myanmar, according to the figures cited by the Malaysian government.

Malaysia prepares first repatriation phase

Anwar announced in July that Myanmar’s military-backed government had agreed to accept the return of 5,000 Rohingya, as concerns increased over tensions between refugees and local communities in Malaysia.

Malaysia has since completed the first stage of a voluntary repatriation programme. The government says at least 1,500 eligible Myanmar refugees are scheduled to return on September 29.

The proposed visit by Min Aung Hlaing therefore comes as Malaysia attempts to balance diplomatic engagement with its calls for Myanmar to accept responsibility for the return and reintegration of Rohingya refugees.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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