WHETHER one likes to call it Myanmar or Burma, both expressions currently point to a failed state. With more than 52 million people of various ethnic and religious backgrounds forced to comply with every dictate of the military junta of Senior General Minh Aung Hlaing, it is no wonder that the people have risen up against him and the Tatmadaw or military.
The cause of the junta began with the personal ambition of Senior General Minh Aung Hlaing to be the President of Myanmar prior to his mandatory retirement in May 2021.
Yet deprived of the chance to have the approval of the then State Councilor or leader of the National League of Democracy (NLD), Senior General Minh Aung Hlaing felt completely slighted. The fact that the NLD has romped home to a major electoral factory in November 2020, this despite a pandemic that was fast unfolding all across the world, not just Myanmar, made for an enen more humiliating slap on the proverbial face of the Senior General himself.
But things perhaps would not have come to a boil had Aung San Suu Kyi intentionally not set out to deny any opportunity to have a face to face dialogue between the "Lady" and the "Senior General".
The meeting that never occurred, to allow Senior General Min Aung Hlaing to explain to Aung San Suu Kyi that the Tatmadaw not only wanted the Presidency but full control of the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Borders and the Ministry of Public Security, further destroyed any chances of a peaceful dialogue both before and after the coup of February 1, 2021, which the world has roundly condemned except a bare few such as North Korea and Cuba.
Come what may, the internal insurrection in Myanmar has now become a full blown civil war, wracking up some 14,000 fatalities to date over the last 2 years. These are people who had been mostly killed by the Tatmadaw, although ethnic groups and tribes, have allowed the worst features of themselves to go on an inter ethnic rampage too, all of which have been clearly catalogued by the United Nations (UN) and the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London.
What makes Myanmar an albatross over the neck of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is the negative impression that it has given to ASEAN and ASEAN Way, which Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim of Malaysia duly noted when he was in Thailand for a two day visit during February 10 and February 11, 2023.
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim affirmed that while it is true that ASEAN does its utmost to practice non-intervention, matters within Myanmar have reached its zenith. First and foremost, the 2401 KM border between Thailand and Myanmar are not on a permanent state of alert; as is the 2400 KM between Myanmar and China, the Comprehensive Strategic Partner (CSP) of ASEAN.
The Myanmar's border with Laos and Bangladesh are another massive headache where the latter the Cox's Bazaar with close to 700,000 people have become a humanitarian redoubt with the lowest quality of life possible.
Secondly, the inability of the Tatmadaw to work with the NLD and up to 24 ethnic groups from a total of 55 of them have spawned serious problems of racial discrimination resulting in genocidal warfare against the Rohingya Muslims in particular.
At any given time, there are 200,000 Rohingya Muslims in Malaysia with another 5 million employed with low skill sets also originating from Bangladesh and Myanmar. These are problems that the likes of Malaysia, Thailand and else where that border Myanmar have had to deal with.
Thirdly, wracked by a Myanmar that is in total disarray, this has brought about the unavoidable odium to the name of ASEAN.
Instead of being seen as a regional organization that is firmly principled in guiding ASEAN —- in fact widely touted as the second most successful regional organization after the European Union (EU) —- ASEAN is now mired with endless problems.
Thus, the suggestion of suspending Myanmar from the membership of ASEAN, even if temporarily, should be given the utmost consideration; without which ASEAN would lose its strategic anchor and diplomatic culture, especially when Jakarta is the chair of ASEAN.
* Rais Hussin is the President and Chief Executive Officer of EMIR Research, a think tank focused on strategic policy recommendations based on rigorous research.
** The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of Astro AWANI.
Dr Rais Hussin
Fri Feb 17 2023
With more than 52 million people of various ethnic and religious backgrounds forced to comply with every dictate of the military junta, it is no wonder that the people have risen up against them. - AP/Filepic
Fahami pasaran sebelum perjalanan pemula niaga adalah penting - Pengasas
Peralihan daripada usahawan solo kepada ketua yang boleh membina dan meneraju pasukan juga penting.
AWANI Ringkas: Bedah siasat 10 mangsa dijangka selesai hari ini
Ikuti rangkuman berita utama yang menjadi tumpuan sepanjang hari di Astro AWANI menerusi AWANI Ringkas.
'Laporan kubur besar Gaza membimbangkan' - Jurucakap AS
Pekerja kesihatan Gaza menemui sekurang-kurangnya 283 mayat dalam satu kubur besar di Hospital Nasser di bandar selatan Khan Younis.
PETRA di landasan tepat capai 98 peratus liputan air bersih, pembentungan di luar bandar
Kementerian Peralihan Tenaga dan Transformasi Air (PETRA) berada di landasan tepat untuk mencapai 98 peratus liputan air bersih dan pembetungan di kawasan luar bandar menjelang akhir 2025.
Misi sekali lagi ditangguhkan, dijangka berlepas pada Jumaat
Misi Break the Siege of Gaza Freedom Flotilla yang dijadualkan memulakan pelayaran pada 24 April 2024 (Rabu) sekali lagi ditangguhkan ke 26 April 2024 (Jumaat).
Hafizul terlibat kes tembak KLIA akan didakwa hari ini
Suspek yang melepaskan tembakan di Balai Ketibaan Lapangan Terbang Antarabangsa Kuala Lumpur (KLIA) Terminal 1, Sepang, pada 14 April lalu akan didakwa di Mahkamah Kota Bharu pada Rabu.
Laporan kubur besar Gaza membimbangkan - Jurucakap AS
Laporan mengenai kubur besar di Gaza adalah sangat membimbangkan.
Timbalan Jurucakap Jabatan Negara Amerika Syarikat berkata demikian susulan Pihak berkuasa Palestin melaporkan menemui ratusan mayat dalam kubur besar di hospital Nasser di Khan Younis minggu ini selepas ia ditinggalkan oleh tentera Israel.
Timbalan Jurucakap Jabatan Negara Amerika Syarikat berkata demikian susulan Pihak berkuasa Palestin melaporkan menemui ratusan mayat dalam kubur besar di hospital Nasser di Khan Younis minggu ini selepas ia ditinggalkan oleh tentera Israel.
200 hari menyerang Gaza, Israel rancang serang Rafah
Serangan tentera Israel yang membawa kemusnahan ke atas Semenajung Gaza memasuki hari ke-200 diburukkan lagi dengan rancangan Israel.
Dengan kejam rejim itu sedang dalam perancangan untuk menyerang Bandar Rafah di selatan Gaza yang menempatkan hampir 1.4 juta warga Palestin yang kehilangan tempat tinggal.
Dengan kejam rejim itu sedang dalam perancangan untuk menyerang Bandar Rafah di selatan Gaza yang menempatkan hampir 1.4 juta warga Palestin yang kehilangan tempat tinggal.
Polis giat kesan tiga lelaki bakar anak kucing di Kajang
Polis sedang mengesan tiga lelaki tempatan kerana disyaki membakar seekor anak kucing di kawasan tempat letak motosikal Flat Sri Kenari, Sungai Ramal Baru, Kajang, dekat sini semalam.
Ketua Polis Daerah Kajang ACP Mohd Zaid Hassan berkata perbuatan berkenaan dirakam kamera litar tertutup (CCTV) di lokasi berkenaan.
Ketua Polis Daerah Kajang ACP Mohd Zaid Hassan berkata perbuatan berkenaan dirakam kamera litar tertutup (CCTV) di lokasi berkenaan.
Perbelanjaan ketenteraan global cecah AS$2.44 trilion tahun 2023
Institut Penyelidikan Keamanan Antarabangsa Stockholm mendedahkan, perbelanjaan ketenteraan global meningkat sebanyak 6.8% kepada paras tertinggi dalam sejarah iaitu AS$2.44 trilion pada 2023, berbanding 2022.
Malaysia perlu masa untuk teliti cadangan visa bersama enam negara ASEAN
Malaysia memerlukan lebih masa untuk meneliti cadangan Thailand mengenai program visa bersama dengan enam negara ASEAN lain.
Konflik Myanmar: ASEAN tegas kepentingan laksana Konsensus Lima Perkara
ASEAN tegaskan semula komitmen bantu Myanmar cari penyelesaian dengan mewujudkan persekitaran kondusif melalu pelaksanaan Konsensus Lima Perkara.
Ringgit ditutup rendah berbanding dolar AS
Pada 6 petang, ringgit merosot kepada 4.7785/7815 berbanding dolar AS daripada 4.7680/7730 semasa ditutup pada Jumaat.
Malaysia sedia jadi hab pusat untuk Pejabat Keluarga di ASEAN
ASEAN semakin mendapat fokus daripada firma pejabat keluarga berikutan kestabilan ekonomi dan pertumbuhan di rantau ini.
LRT Pulau Pinang: Mobiliti, pemangkin pelancongan dan tidak ancam perkhidmatan feri
Pelaksanaan projek LRT Laluan Mutiara Pulau Pinang, dilihat sebagai pengangkutan alternatif penduduk negeri ini bagi mengatasi masalah trafik.
Jenama “Kuasa Tenaga Boleh Diperbaharui Asia” bakal lonjak Sarawak ke persada global - Abang Jo
Abang Johari Tun Openg berkata, Sarawak berpotensi menjadi hab inisiatif peralihan kepada penggunaan tenaga tanpa karbon ketika dunia bergerak ke arah -net-zero- menjelang 2050.
ASEAN: Saifuddin gesa Malaysia lebih proaktif tangani isu Myanmar
Usaha proaktif akan membolehkan Malaysia membentuk persekitaran yang aman dan inklusif dalam rantau ASEAN.
Jadikan ASEAN platform pembelian ubat secara pukal - Dr Noor Hisham
Usaha berterusan perlu dilaksanakan kerajaan untuk menjadikan ASEAN sebagai platform pembelian ubat-ubatan dan peralatan kesihatan menerusi perolehan secara pukal.
Rusia komited kepada ASEAN, tawarkan kepakaran dalam keterjaminan makanan
Rusia mengulangi komitmennya untuk memupuk hubungan yang berpanjangan dengan ASEAN, menjadikannya satu keutamaan utama dalam Konsep Dasar Luar Negaranya.
KESUMA anjur forum, pameran kerjaya berasaskan pekerjaan hijau
Forum bertujuan menggalakkan perkembangan pekerjaan hijau selari dengan keperluan pembangunan ekonomi yang terangkum dan persekitaran mapan.