PUTRAJAYA -- Malaysia wants to see the Association of Southeast Asian Nations adopt a principle of "non-indifference" toward Myanmar's humanitarian crisis -- rather than "non-interference" -- and will ask Cambodia, the bloc's new rotating chair, to convene a special meeting on next steps.
Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah on Monday told reporters that reconfirming Brunei's Second Minister for Foreign Affairs Erywan Yusof as the bloc's envoy to Myanmar would be high on the agenda. He was appointed during Brunei's chairmanship of ASEAN, which ended last month.
"The chair is now Cambodia, so we will need to reaffirm his appointment," Saifuddin said, speaking in the Malaysian administrative capital of Putrajaya. "Malaysia hopes that Erywan can remain as the envoy because of continuity."
Saifuddin also said the envisioned meeting should discuss the list of people the envoy should be given access to meet in Myanmar.
"For Malaysia, the envoy must be able to meet Aung San Suu Kyi and some others," he said. "But meeting with her would be paramount."
Speaking about a week after ASEAN held its annual summit online without inviting Myanmar military leader Min Aung Hlaing -- whose forces ousted Suu Kyi's elected government in February -- Saifuddin stressed ASEAN's long-held principle of non-interference in members' affairs should not be a reason to take a hands-off approach.
"Just because our discussion with the current Myanmar government doesn't achieve results, we cannot stop there but to think of alternatives," he said. "I think we should move from a non-interference to non-indifference approach. It has been used to solve the various geopolitical crisis in other parts of the world."
On another note, Saifuddin said Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia are working on mutual travel green lanes to be implemented as quickly as health protocols are finalized.
He said the travel arrangements, though negotiated bilaterally, received nods from the respective heads of state during the ASEAN summit. The proposals were "well-received" and discussed at length, he said. "The health ministers are now working very hard to get the protocols ready."