Malaysia, ASEAN To Hold Talks On Myanmar Election Plans During Sept 19 Working Visit
Mohamad said the delegation's meeting with Myanmar's Acting President aims to ensure that the elections, scheduled for the end of this year, truly benefit the people of Myanmar.
He added that the outcome of the visit will be presented to the leadership during the 47th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur from Oct 26 to 28.
bootstrap slideshow
According to him, Myanmar must also fully comply with the Five-Point Consensus (5PC), which includes a ceasefire, inclusive dialogue, and unhindered humanitarian assistance, as key steps towards restoring peace and stability in the country.
'As long as the security and political stability situation in Myanmar has not been restored and a democratically elected government not formed, the Rohingya refugee issue cannot be resolved. Bangladesh is currently managing 1.3 million Rohingya in their country, particularly in the Cox's Bazar area.
'Malaysia is no exception — we are hosting nearly 150,000 Rohingya refugees. As a member of the United Nations (UN), we are accepting them only on a temporary basis, not permanently,' he told reporters after officiating the handover of the Covered Open Multipurpose Hall at SK Lavender Heights in Seremban today.
Mohamad said he also wants clarification on whether the elections will be held nationwide, given that there are still 63 towns or areas under a state of emergency imposed by Myanmar's National Defence and Security Council (NDSC).
On July 31, it was reported that Myanmar's junta announced the establishment of a new body to organise a general election at the end of this year, effectively ending the state of emergency in force since the 2021 coup.
Following the formation of the new Security and Stability Commission, also chaired by Min Aung Hlaing, the junta declared that the state of emergency was officially lifted.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Barnama
2 hours ago
- Barnama
Woodlands Checkpoint Upgrade To Maximise JS-SEZ Potential
By Nur Ashikin Abdul Aziz SINGAPORE, Aug 17 (Bernama) -- The redevelopment of Woodlands Checkpoint, to be expanded to five times its current size, will improve cross-border connectivity and maximise the potential of the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ). Singapore Prime Minister Lawrence Wong in his National Day Rally (NDR) speech said that the redevelopment will ensure more efficient and secure clearances, as well as shorter wait times and smoother traffic. bootstrap slideshow 'The SEZ has great potential for both sides to tap on complementary strengths and grow together. To maximise this potential, we must improve cross-border connectivity,' he said on Sunday. He said that today, the Causeway is the busiest land crossing in the world, which gets even more congested during weekends and holidays. To provide a long-term solution to this chronic congestion, the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority (ICA) had previously announced it was redeveloping and extending the Woodlands Checkpoint (WCP) in phases over the next 10 to 15 years. Under Phase 1, ICA will build an extension of WCP at the Old Woodlands Town Centre, with construction work for this phase scheduled for the third quarter of 2025. This extension, among others, will include new automated clearance facilities for cargo vehicles, arriving cars, and arriving motorcycles. Wong also informed that the Johor Bahru–Singapore Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link, which will connect directly to Woodlands North MRT Station in Singapore, is set to ease cross-border travel.
New Straits Times
2 hours ago
- New Straits Times
Plastic pollution deal now appears adrift
THE collapse on Friday of a sixth round of UN talks aimed at curbing plastic output has dimmed hopes of tackling a key source of pollution and left many advocates of restrictions pessimistic about a global deal during the Trump administration. A three-year global push to reach a legally binding treaty to curb plastic pollution choking the oceans and harming human health now appears adrift, participants said. Many states and campaigners blamed the failure on oil-producers, including the United States, which they said hardened long-held positions and urged others to reject caps on new plastic production that would have curbed output of polymers. Debbra Cisneros, a negotiator for Panama, which supported a strong deal, said the United States, the world's number two plastics producer behind China, was less open than in previous rounds conducted under Joe Biden's administration. "This time they were just not wanting anything. So it was hard, because we always had them against us in each of the important provisions," she said at the end of the 11-day talks. Anti-plastic campaigners saw little hope for a change in Washington's position under President Donald Trump, who in February signed an executive order encouraging consumers to buy plastic drinking straws. "The mentality is different, and they want to extract more oil and gas out of the ground," said Bjorn Beeler, International Coordinator at International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN), a global network of more than 600 public-interest NGOs. The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment about its positions and its role in the talks. US delegate John Thompson declined to respond to questions from a Reuters reporter on the outcome. A State Department spokesperson previously said each party should take measures according to its national context, while Washington has expressed concerns that the new rules could increase the costs of all plastic products. The Trump administration has also rolled back various US climate and environmental policies that it says place too many burdens on national industry. Earlier last week, Washington also flexed its muscle in talks about another global environmental agreement when it threatened measures against states backing a proposal aimed at reducing shipping emissions. For a coalition of some 100 countries seeking an ambitious deal in Geneva, production limits are essential. Fiji's delegate Sivendra Michael likened excluding this provision to "mopping the floor without turning off the tap". For each month of delays, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) said nearly a million tonnes of plastic waste accumulates — some of which washes up on the beaches of island states. Some participants also blamed organisers, the International Negotiating Committee (INC), a UN-established body supported by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). A low point was a formal meeting an hour before the negotiations were set to conclude at midnight on Thursday which lasted less than a minute and was then adjourned until dawn, prompting laughter and jeering from delegates. "Everyone was in shock as no one understood," said Ana Rocha, Global Plastics Policy Director for environmental group GAIA. "It's almost like they were playing with small children." France's ecology minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher called proceedings "chaotic". Asked what went wrong, INC chair Luis Vayas Valdivieso blamed the rift between countries and called the negotiations complex. "But we have advanced and that's important," he said. UN provisional rules require all states to agree — a constraint that some see as unworkable, especially under a US administration that is retreating from multilateralism. "Consensus is dead. You cannot agree a deal where all the countries who produce and export plastics and oil can decide the terms of what the deal is going to be," said IPEN's Beeler. Some delegates and campaigners suggested introducing voting to break the deadlock or even for the UN-led process to be abandoned altogether. The WWF and others called on ambitious states to pursue a separate deal, with the hope of getting plastics-producing nations on board later. Two draft deals emerged from the talks — one more ambitious than the other. Neither was adopted. It is unclear when the next meeting will take place, with states merely agreeing to reconvene at a later date.
Barnama
3 hours ago
- Barnama
863 Youth Participated In Kembara JOM 2.0 In Kota Marudu, Sabah
KOTA KINABALU, Aug 17 (Bernama) -- A total of 863 youth from Kota Kinabalu and Labuan participated in the Borneo Zone 1 Kembara Jumpa Orang Muda (Kembara JOM) 2.0 programme at Kampung Tagaroh, Kota Marudu, Sabah from Aug 15 to 17. Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Adam Adli, who was also at the programme, said that Kembara JOM helped strengthen the rural youth empowerment agenda and findings from the programme would help national youth development. 'Kembara JOM serves as a platform for profiling rural youth, setting up new associations, youth participation as well as the implementation of socio-economic studies and the needs of local youth,' he said in a statement today.
