'Reform in Myanmar must be slow'

'Reform in Myanmar must be slow'

MYANMAR: Malaysian premier Mahathir Mohamad left Myanmar on
Monday after an official visit where he failed to meet with
opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi and insisted democratic
reforms should be taken slowly.

"While we uphold democracy and would like to see democracy
practiced in a country, we are also aware the process of change
must be gradual," he told reporters after opening a technology
conference here.

Mahathir, a trusted friend and adviser to the ruling junta,
said before arriving in Yangon that he would not see Suu Kyi
during the two-day trip, despite the Nobel peace laureate's
request for a meeting.

A Malaysian diplomatic source said on Sunday that a meeting
had instead been arranged between Suu Kyi and Foreign Minister
Syed Hamid Albar, who is traveling in the large Malaysian
delegation.

But Mahathir said on Monday that no such meeting had taken
place. "There was never any such appointment as far as I know,"
he said. -- AFP