Othman Hashim Special Envoy Of ASEAN Chair On Myanmar, FM Mohamad Informs AMM Retreat

By Linda Khoo

LANGKAWI, Jan 19 (Bernama) -- Former Malaysian Foreign Ministry secretary-general Tan Sri Othman Hashim is the Special Envoy of the ASEAN Chair on Myanmar.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan announced his appointment at the closed-door meeting of the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ (AMM) Retreat here Sunday.

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“I would like to take this opportunity to formally inform of the appointment of Tan Sri Othman Hashim as the Special Envoy of the ASEAN Chair on Myanmar.

“I thank you for your commitment to support him in carrying out his mandate as the Special Envoy,” he said when delivering an intervention on the ASEAN Leaders’ Review and Decision on the Implementation of the Five-Point Consensus on Myanmar.

Othman, who is also the former chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam), is the fifth special envoy on Myanmar to be appointed since the February 2021 military coup that sparked a political and humanitarian crisis in that country. 

Othman, who is a Bachelor of Economics (Hons) graduate of Universiti Malaya, had served the Foreign Ministry for more than three decades, holding various posts in the ministry as well as diplomatic missions abroad.

He had served in several countries including Romania, Switzerland and China. He served as Malaysia’s Ambassador to the Czech Republic, as Permanent Representative to the United Nations and Ambassador to the United States.

Othman was also accredited to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) and headed the Malaysian delegations to the regular sessions of the UNHRC between 2009 and 2012.

In September 2013, Othman returned to Putrajaya and was appointed as the ministry's secretary general, the highest executive post in the ministry.

He led the ministry during Malaysia’s chairmanship of ASEAN in 2015 and non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council from 2015 to 2016.

Othman retired in 2016.

The Myanmar issue centres on the ongoing political and humanitarian crisis following the 2021 military coup, which has strained ASEAN's unity and challenged its principles of non-interference and consensus in addressing regional stability and human rights.

All eyes are on Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s administration as Malaysia takes on the ASEAN Chairmanship this year, with anticipation mounting over how the country will assume a greater role in driving regional progress. 

-- BERNAMA