Myanmar president set for Malaysia visit

Myanmar president Min Aung Hlaing will visit Malaysia in the “next few days” to discuss a long-term solution to the issue of Myanmar refugees in the country, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim says.

“The conditions we are putting forward are that we need to return the Myanmar citizens, and proper treatment must be guaranteed to them so that there is no abuse, pressure or human rights violations,” Anwar told the Dewan Rakyat today.

Last month, Anwar said he would invite Min Aung Hlaing for an official visit to Malaysia in a bid to expedite the repatriation of some 200,000 Rohingya refugees in the country.

Anwar said the diplomatic move was aimed at finding a long-term solution to the issue, which has caused concern and anger within the local community.

He said that in earlier negotiations, the Myanmar government had agreed to take back 5,000 Rohingya refugees in stages.

A total of 1,476 Myanmar nationals were sent home on Sept 29 aboard three Myanmar naval vessels in the first phase of the repatriation programme.

Malaysia is awaiting confirmation from Myanmar on the date for the second phase, which will see another 3,524 Myanmar nationals repatriated.