Badawi postpones Myanmar trip

Badawi postpones Myanmar trip

MALAYSIA: Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has called off a trip to Myanmar because he has a cough and a sore throat, his office said.

The visit, scheduled for Thursday, was to have been the last of a nine-country tour of Association of Southeast Asian Nations members -- a series of courtesy calls since Abdullah came to power last October.

Badawi succeeded Mahathir Mohamad, who led Malaysia for more than 22 years and was a driving force behind ASEAN.

Under Mahathir, Malaysia also played a broker's role in the reconciliation process between Myanmar's military rulers and Aung Sun Suu Kyi's pro-democracy movement, which has since faltered.

Badawi's visit offered the first indication of whether he would continue Mahathir's policies on Myanmar.

A new date for the trip would be fixed later, Badawi's office said in a statement. -- AP