Al Jazeera opinion questions Malaysia's welcome for Myanmar's Min Aung Hlaing
An Al Jazeera opinion piece says Malaysia's ceremonial reception for Myanmar's Min Aung Hlaing and its returns of Rohingya weaken its credibility on international justice.
At a glance
- Malaysia's PM Anwar Ibrahim received Myanmar's Min Aung Hlaing in Putrajaya on October 8, his first visit since the 2021 coup.
- Nine days earlier, Malaysia returned 1,476 Myanmar nationals by sea, the first phase of a plan to send back 5,000 people.
- An Al Jazeera opinion piece says the welcome and the returns undermine Malaysia's credibility on international justice.
Malaysia's Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim received Myanmar's military chief Min Aung Hlaing in Putrajaya on October 8 with a guard of honour and an official luncheon, his first visit since the 2021 coup, according to an Al Jazeera opinion piece that argues the welcome damages Kuala Lumpur's standing on international justice.
Nine days earlier, Malaysia sent 1,476 Myanmar nationals back by sea, the first phase of a plan to return 5,000 people. Kuala Lumpur calls the approach pragmatic diplomacy. The article argues it instead lends a middle power's credibility to the Trump administration's retreat from international accountability.
Rohingya under pressure in Malaysia
Since May, the piece says, a surge of online hate speech and misinformation has targeted the Rohingya, Malaysia's largest refugee community. By late July, at least nine Rohingya community schools had closed or faced closure orders, and more than 100 Rohingya told UNHCR that residents of their Penang village had driven them out.
Malaysia's police chief says Rohingya account for 0.02 percent of crime. Research by INITIATE.MY and the Center for the Study of Organized Hate found AI-generated content amplifying anti-Rohingya disinformation across Malaysia, Indonesia, India and Bangladesh, casting refugees as a threat and legitimising vigilante violence.
The article links the hardening tone to electoral politics: after heavy losses in three state elections, with a general election due by February 2028, Anwar's coalition may see a hard line on returns as a show of control, though it says any electoral gain is uncertain.
Regional precedent
Malaysia is not acting alone, the piece notes: Mongolia hosted Vladimir Putin in 2024 despite an ICC arrest warrant, and Hungary welcomed Benjamin Netanyahu in 2025 despite another. Kuala Lumpur denies the visit amounts to recognition, but Anwar says Malaysia will work towards Myanmar's full reintegration into ASEAN, and Min Aung Hlaing wants a seat at the bloc's November summit in Manila.
ASEAN's earlier effort, the Five-Point Consensus that Min Aung Hlaing agreed to in April 2021, was ignored, the article says. Myanmar specialist Arkar Hein is quoted saying that welcoming him back "with nothing asked in return rewards that defiance".
Malaysia has spent decades building credibility as a peacemaker, facilitating the Bangsamoro process since 2001 and talks in southern Thailand since 2013. In November 2024 Anwar welcomed ICC arrest warrants for Netanyahu; that same month the ICC prosecutor sought a warrant for Min Aung Hlaing over alleged crimes against humanity targeting the Rohingya. Malaysia is not a party to the Rome Statute and has no legal duty to arrest him.
Returns and accountability
UNHCR says it was not involved in the returns and could not verify they were voluntary, and that safe conditions do not exist; those returned reportedly included 27 children. Myanmar's military does not control Rakhine State, where the Arakan Army holds more than 90 percent of the territory, and a September 28 air attack there reportedly killed at least 50 civilians.
The piece also cites pressure on the ICC: hours after former ICC judge Navi Pillay won the Nobel Peace Prize on October 9, the Trump administration sanctioned the court. It closes by urging Malaysia to pause returns, tie ASEAN reintegration to progress on the Five-Point Consensus, and back accountability efforts.
Source: Al Jazeera.
Questions and answers
- Why did Malaysia host Myanmar's Min Aung Hlaing?
- Malaysia describes its approach as pragmatic diplomacy. The October 8 visit in Putrajaya included a guard of honour and an official luncheon, his first since the 2021 coup.
- Why is Malaysia returning Myanmar nationals and Rohingya?
- Malaysia returned 1,476 Myanmar nationals by sea nine days before the visit, as the first phase of a plan to return 5,000 people. UNHCR says it was not involved and could not verify the returns were voluntary or safe.
- What is the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus?
- It is a plan Min Aung Hlaing agreed to in April 2021. According to the opinion piece, it was ignored: violence continued, the ASEAN special envoy never met Aung San Suu Kyi and inclusive dialogue never began.
