Mahathir arrives in Yangon, minister to meet Suu Kyi
Mahathir arrives in Yangon, minister to meet Suu Kyi
Agence France-Presse, Yangon
Malaysian Prime Minister Mohamad Mahathir arrived here on Sunday for an official visit along with Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar, who is scheduled to meet with democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi, a diplomatic source said.
The leader of the National League for Democracy (NLD) had requested a meeting with the premier earlier this month, but Mahathir reportedly said on Sunday he would not be agreeing to her request.
"I'm not intending to meet her this time," he was quoted as saying by the official Bernama news agency.
But a Malaysian diplomatic source told AFP on Sunday that a meeting had been arranged with the foreign minister.
"A meeting will take place between the foreign minister and Aung San Suu Kyi," the source said, without specifying when it would take place. The meeting would come at a critical time for Myanmar's junta as it prepares to embark on a national reconciliation process.
Some 300 officials and businesspeople are accompanying Mahathir on what is being billed as a business visit arranged to reciprocate Myanmar leader Senior Gen. Than Shwe's trip to Kuala Lumpur last year.
But the visit is likely to be more than just business, given the close relationship between Mahathir and Than Shwe, whose regime is expected to soon begin a political dialog with Suu Kyi.
The two sides began talking in October 2000, in contacts brokered by veteran Malaysian diplomat and UN special envoy Razali Ismail.
Mahathir's policy of constructive engagement with Myanmar -- which joined ASEAN in 1997 with Kuala Lumpur's sponsorship -- along with his standing as a strongman of authoritarian democracy in Southeast Asia, make his advice likely to be highly sought.
"It has paid off, this constructive engagement and the fact that we've brought them into the ASEAN fraternity," Syed Hamid said on Friday.
"Some considered the development slow but there has definitely been positive changes. Isolation is not the answer."
To bring Myanmar closer to democracy, Syed Hamid said Malaysia believed in continued encouragement and investment in the country because "economic development changes a lot of attitude and perception about things."
He said that Mahathir planned to push the junta to accelerate the reconciliation process.
On Sunday evening the premier was scheduled to meet with Gen. Than Shwe, and attend a dinner hosted by the general in his honor.
On the business side of Mahathir's whirlwind trip, the two countries are to sign two memorandums of understanding (MoUs).
These are related to an offshore oil exploration contract between Malaysia's Petronas and Myanmar's Energy Ministry, and a study to construct mini-hydro plants at the Nga Moe Yeik and Tabuhla dams between Tepat Teknik Sdn. Bhd. and Myanmar's Ministry of Agriculture and Irrigation.
Three tentative MoUs on steel exports, telecommunications and development of Yangon are also on the cards but await approval from the Myanmar parties, according to Syed Hamid.
On Monday, Mahathir will address the Malaysia-Myanmar Technology Conference and witness the signing of the MoUs. The premier will also observe the installation of a new high-tech passport screening system exported from Malaysia.
Malaysia is the fourth largest investor in Myanmar after Singapore, Britain and Thailand, with total investments of 2.23 billion ringgit (US$587 million).