Statement
by Lim Kit Siang - Parliamentary Opposition Leader, DAP Secretary-General and MP for Tanjong
in Petaling Jaya
on Wednesday 3rd November 1996

As three ASEAN nations, Thailand, Philippines and Singapore have made public their position that Myanmar is not ready to be admitted into ASEAN, Malaysia should stop sponsoring Myanmar’s admission despite the disappointment of not achieving the dream of transforming `ASEAN 7’ into ‘ASEAN 10’ on the 30th ASEAN anniversary at the ASEAN Summit in Malaysia next year

Reuters had reported that the Myanmar Ambassador to Thailand, Hla Maung had rejected the Thai proposal that the State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC) of Myanmar should complete drafting a constitution for Burma and hold a general election before becoming a full ASEAN member.

The Thai proposal was made by the Thai Foreign Minister, Amnuay Viravan last Wednesday, who said the ruling SLORC regime would be more welcome in the international community after it had completed the constitution-drafting process and held a general election.

Amnuay said SLORC used to explain and assure ASEAN that it is going to have a constitution and that the draft is already 75 per cent complete.

In rejecting the Thai proposal, the Myanmese Ambassador to Thailand Hla Maung said that “Yangon is fully ready to join ASEAN” and that “if the ASEAN nations sympathise with us, we can become a member today or tomorrow”.

It is understandable why SLORC is ready to join ASEAN “today or tomorrow” as this will help it to secure international legitimacy not only for its illegal rule in refusing to recognise the results of the 1990 general elections which it had itself conducted and which had given Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy a landslide victory, but also for the series of repressive actions in its crackdowns against pro-democracy activists in the past six months.

However, ASEAN cannot be ready to admit Myanmar, “today or tomorrow” or even next year, as a full member if ASEAN governments and peoples do not want ASEAN to acquire international disrepute and notoriety as a regional organisation which is completely oblivious to gross violation of human rights in Burma.

One of the most unpleasant but most challenging tasks of ASEAN Secretary-General, Datuk Ajit Singh, who is currently on an official visit to Myanmar, is to let the SLORC leaders understand in no uncertain terms that Myanmar cannot be admitted into ASEAN so long as it ranks with nations which top the world chart with the worst violations of human rights.

In this connection, the statement by the Singapore Prime Minister, Goh Chok Tong last Thursday in an interview with Finland’s MTV3 that he did not think Myanmar was “quite ready in the near future to adopt all the obligations of being a member of ASEAN” is most welcome, making Singapore the third ASEAN country after Thailand and the Philippines in favour of deferring the question of the admission of Myanmar into ASEAN next year.

Although the reasons given by Goh Chok Tong are not related to human rights, but concern the obligations an ASEAN member nation must assume under the ASEAN Free Trade Area, the message to SLORC is clear and unmistakable.

In view of the positions taken by three ASEAN governments, namely Thailand, Philippines and Singapore that Myanmar is not ready to be admitted as a full ASEAN member, the Malaysian Government should cease being the sponsor of Myanmar’s admission into ASEAN next year, although this would be a great disappointment to Malaysia in not being able to achieve the dream of expanding `ASEAN 7’ to `ASEAN 10’, particularly on the occasion of the 30th anniversary of ASEAN at the ASEAN Summit to be hosted by Malaysia next year.

It is better to wait a few years to achieve the dream of ‘ASEAN 10’ instead of fulfilling the dream of ‘ASEAN 10’ next year together with the international infamy which will forever be associated with it.

(3/11/96)