Myanmar's Min Aung Hlaing to Visit Malaysia for Migrant Talks — SkimNews
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- Min Aung Hlaing will visit Malaysia 'in the next few days' per PM Anwar Ibrahim's Oct 6 announcement to parliament, part of a diplomatic push for legitimacy by the leader of Myanmar's 2021 coup that triggered civil war.
- Malaysia's plan to return about 5,000 Myanmar nationals—announced in July—will be a key agenda item, with concerns that Rohingya refugees may be among those repatriated to the country they fled.
- The first group of nearly 1,500 returnees arrived in Myanmar on Oct 4, though Malaysia has not disclosed how many Rohingya were included in that initial cohort.
- Anwar Ibrahim said the foreign minister, home minister, and he will 'raise issues towards a solution' during the visit, without specifying what that solution entails or what protections returning Rohingya would receive.
- Min Aung Hlaing led the military during the 2017 crackdown that drove the Rohingya minority fleeing to Malaysia en masse, creating the population now facing potential return to his rule.
Why it matters: The visit grants Min Aung Hlaing diplomatic legitimacy from a Southeast Asian neighbor even as Malaysia's refusal to disclose the Rohingya share of the 1,500 already returned leaves accountability gaps before the talks.
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