Anwar’s push to return Myanmar to Asean sparks criticism over weakened leverage

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on Thursday said Malaysia would do “whatever is possible” to strengthen cooperation with Myanmar and fully reintegrate the diplomatically isolated nation into the Asean fold.

The pledge came during an unusually high-profile official welcome for Myanmar President Min Aung Hlaing, despite Malaysia’s position that such engagement does not amount to recognition of his government.

Min Aung Hlaing inspected a guard of honour in Putrajaya before holding private talks with Anwar for about 40 minutes, drawing criticism that the prime minister was giving up leverage over the former junta chief at a time when the country was pursuing Myanmar’s cooperation to repatriate thousands of its nationals.

Naypyidaw, a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, was also seeking greater regional legitimacy, as its political leaders had been excluded from the bloc’s summits since 2021 for failing to implement a peace plan calling for an end to violence, inclusive dialogue and humanitarian aid.

Asean has continued to engage Myanmar while withholding political-level representation, with the bloc’s approach tied to progress on its Five-Point Consensus.

Anwar said Malaysia would “do whatever is possible” to boost ties and “ultimately take Myanmar as part of our community of nations without prejudice, and particularly in the context of Asean”.

He acknowledged differences over democratic reform but praised Min Aung Hlaing’s willingness to listen, recalling earlier assurances about engaging all parties to prevent further violence.

“But how you do it, the mechanism, of course, is up to you as a leader of the country,” Anwar said. “But I want to just stress the importance that we have never reneged [on] that responsibility to express our views.”

Min Aung Hlaing became Myanmar’s president in April following a military-organised election widely criticised by Western governments and rights groups, and has since visited Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.

“This visit marks my fifth trip to an Asean member state and my ninth overseas trip since assuming the duty of president,” he said.

Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul hosted him in August and pledged support for Myanmar’s full participation in Asean.

Anwar also thanked Myanmar for financing repatriations, saying 10,493 nationals had been returned by air and sea, with another 3,000 to 4,000 detainees to follow.

“Very, very few, hardly any country, in my experience, are willing to accept this repatriation in large numbers at their own expense, as you have shown,” he said.

His office clarified that those awaiting return were part of an existing 5,000-person programme, whose first group of 1,476 left Malaysia on September 29.

Min Aung Hlaing said Myanmar would expedite returns and send a naval ship, while inviting Malaysian investment in agriculture and infrastructure.

“I firmly believe that enhancing our bilateral economic cooperation will bring highly practical economic benefits and joint opportunities for the people of both countries,” he said. He described Malaysia as Myanmar’s fourth-largest trading partner and ninth-largest investor.

Diplomatic dividends

Joshua Kurlantzick, senior fellow for Southeast Asia and South Asia at the Council on Foreign Relations, said Anwar had surrendered bargaining power.

“I strongly believe Anwar, who I do respect greatly, has actually given away leverage that he, a skilled diplomatic actor, could have used to secure significant concessions,” Kurlantzick told This Week in Asia. “I think his decision thus was a major mistake. The broadening legitimacy offered to the Myanmar regime, with really little asked for in return, does not make much sense at all.”

Blake Berger, deputy director of Verve Research, said bilateral engagement was allowing Myanmar’s leadership to regain acceptance without meeting Asean’s demands.

“While it may be a stretch for Anwar to secure every member’s agreement on Myanmar’s return to the Asean fold, he may not need to, given the junta’s success in engaging bilaterally with a number of regional states,” Berger said.

He questioned whether repatriation cooperation would increase Malaysia’s influence, as “the junta has so far made none of the political concessions Asean has sought since 2021”.

Malaysia describes the returns as voluntary, but the UN refugee agency said it had no access to assess the previous group’s protection needs or consent, questioning whether decisions made in detention were freely taken.

The returnees had been held in Malaysian immigration detention centres and it remains unclear whether Rohingya Muslims – a persecuted minority largely denied citizenship in Myanmar – were among them. Rights groups have warned that those sent back could face persecution or forced military conscription.

Anwar last month rejected accusations that Malaysia was disregarding their safety, arguing that continued engagement with Myanmar was necessary to resolve long-standing issues. He said his government would pursue further talks to arrange returns.

Josef Benedict, an Asia researcher with CIVICUS, accused Anwar’s government of ignoring warnings about persecution and urged it to engage Myanmar’s opposition and civil society.

“Any guarantees they provide cannot be trusted at all,” he said of Myanmar’s leadership, calling for independent monitoring of returnees.

Myanmar news outlet Democratic Voice of Burma reported on Wednesday that migrant workers in Malaysia had staged a work stoppage against the visit of the president, with organisers saying it showed opposition to normalising relations.

The welcome comes as an International Criminal Court prosecutor’s application for Min Aung Hlaing’s arrest remains pending over alleged crimes against humanity involving the deportation and persecution of Rohingya Muslims in 2017.

Malaysia’s foreign ministry has defended engagement as consistent with Asean’s approach to peace and reconciliation.

Myanmar’s Steering Council for the Emergence of a Federal Democratic Union, which brings together political and armed resistance groups, condemned the trip on Thursday.

“Receptive diplomatic hosting of Min Aung Hlaing at the head-of-state level stands in direct contradiction to these established principles,” it said in a statement, citing Malaysia’s stated commitment to democracy and human rights.