Myanmar's ASEAN Partners 'indirectly Critical' Of Rohingya Issue: Mahathir

Mohammad Ali (@ChaudhryMAli88) Published November 16, 2018 | 04:04 PM

Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has said that Myanmar's partners in the 10-member ASEAN are "indirectly critical" of and "concerned" over the Rohingya issue.

SINGAPORE, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 16th Nov, 2018 ) :Malaysian Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has said that Myanmar's partners in the 10-member ASEAN are "indirectly critical" of and "concerned" over the Rohingya issue.

At the concluding session of the 33rd ASEAN Summit here, Dr Mahathir said Myanmar should have emulated Malaysia in accepting people of foreign origin after Malaysia became independent 61 years ago.

Dr Mahathir has been consistently critical of Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi, saying she "is trying to defend what is indefensible".

Asked whether the other member nations looked at Suu Kyi "less or not so well", Dr Mahathir said: "I think they are quite restrained in a way. They don't actually condemn her or condemn Myanmar but they are talking more about doing something better." Dr Mahathir, 93, who is the oldest head of government at this ASEAN summit, noted that the strongest statement on the issue was made by United States Vice President Mike Pence.

Asked if he thinks the Myanmar government is serious about resolving the issue, Dr Mahathir said: "We have to understand the distribution of power in Myanmar. Aung San Suu Kyi is not the Head of Government. In fact, she is a State Councillor." Asked if that means that the fate of the government is not in her hands, Dr Manathir said Suu Kyi will be able to influence the government on the opinions expressed during the conference as almost everyone raised the matter.

"Because when this thing (Rohingya issue) happened, I wrote a letter to her. She did not acknowledge it. She did not reply and I did not ask her if she received it or not.

"But she knows very well that when she was under detention, we gave her full support. We tried our best; we spoke to (Senior General) Than Shwe to have her released and all that. So, I did mention that people who have been under detention should understand the sufferings of people who are badly treated," he said.