KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 17 (Bernama) -- Malaysia, as the chairman of ASEAN next year, together with the member countries will scrutinise the effectiveness of the Five-Point Consensus (5PC) in addressing the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, said Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.
He said this was to ensure a more effective implementation and to overcome previous shortcomings.
"It (Myanmar) has a roadmap. We also want to hear about its roadmap and, if similar, why can't we coordinate it with our views? But, as it stands now, the mandate of the ASEAN leaders is the five-point consensus.
"So, we don't want there to be any country, or certain parties, trying to do anything other than the five-point consensus by using other mechanisms. So, we will try our best first and see how we can apply this five-point consensus to Myanmar," he said.
He said this during a media session in conjunction with the ASEAN-Malaysia Chairmanship 2025 here yesterday.
The session was also attended by Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Mohamad Alamin, Foreign Ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Amran Mohamed Zin and ASEAN-Malaysia National Secretariat director-general Datuk Zanariah Zainal Abidin.
Also present were Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) chairman Datuk Seri Wong Chun Wai, Bernama chief executive officer Datin Paduka Nur-ul Afida Kamaludin and Bernama editor-in-chief Arul Rajoo Durar Raj as well as representatives of media organisations.
Meanwhile, Mohamad said ASEAN must be united in addressing security matters that crop up in the region, including the humanitarian issue in Myanmar and the South China SEA issue.
He said ASEAN must return to the original objectives of its establishment to foster regional peace, stability and collaboration, thus going on to achieve a resilient economy and staying on the right track to become the world's fourth biggest economy by 2030.
"On the Myanmar issue, as the voice of ASEAN we (use) the ASEAN mechanism. In the South China SEA, we also need to use the ASEAN mechanism so that we do not get into a situation where we can be divided.
"So, this is what we are doing and Malaysia, as the chairman, wants to emphasise this. That's why ASEAN was established in the first place, so that we can speak as one voice, as one bloc, as a neutral, peaceful and free region so that we are not divided," he said, adding that the matter is encompassed under the ASEAN-Malaysia Chairmanship 2025 theme of "Inclusivity and Sustainability".
In addition, Mohamad said there were suggestions for the ASEAN-United States conference to be held immediately so that the bloc would not be seen as biased towards any party in a bid to balance ASEAN.
Malaysia will helm ASEAN again next year, having held the chairmanship four times in 1977, 1997, 2005 and 2015.
-- BERNAMA
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