Myanmar military leader Min Aung Hlaing has arrived in Malaysia for talks with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, as Kuala Lumpur seeks his cooperation to send thousands of Myanmar nationals home.
Images from state media showed Min Aung Hlaing landing at Kuala Lumpur International Airport at 04:30 GMT on Wednesday. The two-day visit comes as Malaysia presses ahead with a controversial push to repatriate thousands of Myanmar nationals, despite warnings from the United Nations and human rights organizations that returnees could face serious danger amid the country's ongoing civil war.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Malaysian government said the visit offered the prime minister a chance to maintain direct engagement with Myanmar. Key bilateral issues include the voluntary, dignified and safe repatriation of Myanmar nationals of all ethnicities who are in Malaysia illegally.
A spokesperson for Min Aung Hlaing said the agenda would include discussions on the voluntary, dignified and safe repatriation of Myanmar nationals currently in Malaysia.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since Min Aung Hlaing led the 2021 military coup, which triggered a civil war that has killed about 100,000 people and displaced more than 3.5 million.
The military has held a widely criticized election that allowed the retired general, who is under Western sanctions, to take on a civilian role. The transition has led to a series of moves to re-engage with Myanmar.
Since formally becoming president in April, Min Aung Hlaing has visited fellow ASEAN members Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, as well as undertaking trips to China, India, Russia and Belarus.
Rohingya repatriation
In Malaysia, pressure on undocumented migrants and refugees has mounted since a wave of hostile rhetoric and online misinformation earlier this year, particularly against Rohingya, many of whom fled brutal military persecution in Myanmar's Rakhine State in 2017.
Last month, Anwar said in a podcast that he would invite Min Aung Hlaing for an official visit if Myanmar agreed to take back thousands of Rohingya refugees.
According to Anwar, Malaysia has deported about 10,000 Myanmar nationals since January, and the leader said Myanmar's authorities had given assurances that those returning would not be harmed.
Malaysia is currently home to about 215,600 refugees and asylum seekers registered with UNHCR, including about 126,000 Rohingya, one of the largest refugee communities in Southeast Asia.
Despite hosting them, Malaysia is not a party to the UN Refugee Convention and treats refugees as undocumented migrants.
