Open letter: Malaysia must lead ASEAN with principle, not hypocrisy, to address the Myanmar crisis

To:
H.E. Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim
Prime Minister of Malaysia
Chair of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations 2025

CC:
H.E. Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, Prime Minister of Brunei Darussalam
H.E. Hun Manet, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia
H.E. Prabowo Subianto, President of the Republic of Indonesia
H.E. Sonexay Siphandone, Prime Minister of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic
H.E. Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr., President of the Republic of the Philippines
H.E. Lawrence Wong, Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore
H.E. Paetongtarn Shinawatra, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand
H.E. Phạm Minh Chính, Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

21 May 2025

Open letter: Malaysia must lead ASEAN with principle, not hypocrisy, to address the Myanmar crisis

Your Excellency,

We—the undersigned 285 Myanmar, regional, and international civil society organizations—write to you at the most critical juncture for Myanmar and for the credibility and efficacy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in the region. As Malaysia chairs ASEAN and is set to host the 46th Summit later this month, we urgently call for your decisive leadership to unify and steer ASEAN to adopt a stronger, more principled stance and take concerted efforts to address the intensifying multifaceted crisis in Myanmar.

This should begin with ASEAN cutting all ties with the Myanmar military junta and shifting official engagement to Myanmar’s legitimate stakeholders: the National Unity Government (NUG) and Ethnic Resistance Organizations (EROs).

We are compelled to express our condemnation of your recent meeting with Min Aung Hlaing, the architect of the ongoing terror campaign, and main perpetrator of genocide against the Rohingya and war crimes and crimes against humanity against the people of Myanmar. This meeting, far from being a diplomatic necessity, is a grave misstep that further harms the people. It offers the junta a dangerous façade of false legitimacy at a time when it is desperately seeking to escape international isolation and accountability. Such engagement does not serve the interests of peace or justice for the Myanmar people, for which ASEAN allegedly strives. Instead, it once again emboldens an illegitimate military junta responsible for the most heinous crimes in Southeast Asia’s recent history, and signals to the world that ASEAN is willing to compromise its credibility for the sake of hollow dialogue.

This is not an isolated error, but a symptom of ASEAN’s broader failure since the military’s illegal coup attempt in 2021. We note that this meeting—and in fact, each and every previous meeting—with junta representatives, has consistently empowered the military to continue its brutal attacks and airstrikes against civilians. For over four years, acting alone and within ASEAN, the region’s leaders have clung to an approach that prioritizes engagement with the perpetrators of mass atrocity crimes over the rule of law, justice and accountability, and solidarity with victims and survivors. The perfunctory Five-Point Consensus, repeatedly invoked but never effectively nor meaningfully implemented, has become a shield for the military to continue its campaign of terror with total impunity. The ongoing presence of junta representatives at ASEAN meetings at any level continues to undermine the bloc’s credibility and betrays its founding commitment to democracy, peace, security, and respect for human rights.

Since its illegal coup attempt in February 2021, the Myanmar military junta has perpetrated a multitude of grave human rights violations and mass atrocity crimes, including massacres, torching and pillaging entire towns, and lethal airstrikes against civilians and places where they take refuge. Since February 2021, the military has conducted more than 4,000 airstrikes, exponentially escalating such attacks over the past two years. The military’s widespread and systematic violence has so far internally displaced more than 3.5 million people—likely a gross underestimation of the true magnitude of displacement. Since your meeting with Min Aung Hlaing on 17 April, the junta has conducted at least 171 airstrikes, the vast majority on civilian areas with no intention other than to inflict harm and terrorize the people. The latest massacre in Depayin Township, Sagaing Region, on 12 May 2025, in which a junta airstrike on a school killed at least 22 children and two teachers, is yet another horrific testament to the military’s utter contempt for human life and international law.

In light of these grave realities, we urgently call on Your Excellency to exercise the courageous and principled leadership that this moment demands. Malaysia must immediately and unequivocally sever all ties with the junta, and use its position as ASEAN Chair to unify and lead the bloc with the same courageous and decisive action, in support of Myanmar people’s revolution to dismantle military tyranny and establish federal democracy. We expect that Malaysia recognizes the gravity of this call and will ensure no junta representatives are permitted to participate in any ASEAN meetings at any level—including the upcoming Summit.

ASEAN, under Malaysia’s leadership, must recognize and engage with the legitimate representatives of the Myanmar people, the NUG and EROs, as well as Myanmar civil society. These are the actors who have demonstrated genuine commitment to finding a long-term sustainable solution in the best interests and desires of Myanmar’s people: democracy, federalism, and human rights. ASEAN’s engagement must be formal, meaningful, and conducted at the highest levels—not relegated to unofficial channels in the name of quiet diplomacy or tokenistic side meetings. Engagement must be open and transparent to gain the confidence of the Myanmar people. Only then can the bloc move beyond the failed Five-Point Consensus and support a Myanmar-owned and -led solution, as it so often claims to do. ASEAN must stop clinging to empty rhetoric and prove its pledges with concrete, meaningful actions to stop the junta’s violence—most urgently the airstrikes. Anything less will only prolong ASEAN’s complicity in the cycle of military violence and impunity which has defined Myanmar over the past seven decades.

Furthermore, the humanitarian catastrophe intensifying in central Myanmar and its ethnic borderlands and regions demands an urgent and principled response, particularly following the devastating earthquake on 28 March 2025. The current approach—channeling aid through the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (AHA Centre)—has failed to deliver aid meaningfully and effectively, and has further allowed the junta to weaponize aid for its own advantage. We urge Malaysia to lead ASEAN in steering Myanmar’s neighbors to collaborate with the NUG and EROs and directly support existing local civil society, networks, and community-based responders to do their important work without interference or bureaucratic obstacles.

Malaysia’s Madani values of sustainability, respect, trust, and compassion provide a strong foundation for Your Excellency to lead ASEAN to adopt a bold, inclusive, and principled approach with decisive and pragmatic action to help resolve the Myanmar crisis. Your leadership as ASEAN Chair can restore ASEAN’s regional relevance by responding to the threats posed by the Myanmar military and the multifaceted crisis it has caused and by demonstrating genuine commitment to democracy, peace, justice, human security, and development in the region.

Your Excellency, history will judge this most critical moment for the region by the choices you and your fellow ASEAN leaders make. We urge you to reject the path of hypocrisy and complicity, and instead chart a course grounded in humanity, solidarity, and respect for the rights and dignity of the Myanmar people.

We stand ready to support your efforts and urge you to seize this critical opportunity to lead ASEAN to support a Myanmar people-owned and -led political transformation process toward a just and lasting resolution in Myanmar.

For more information, please contact:

• Saw Albert, Karen Human Rights Group; [email protected]
• Naw Aung, Defend Myanmar Democracy; [email protected]
• Nai Aue Mon, Human Rights Foundation of Monland; [email protected]
• Khin Ohmar, Progressive Voice; [email protected]

Signed by 285 civil society organizations, including 31 organizations that have chosen not to disclose their names:

1. 5/ of Zaya State Strike
2. 8888 Generation (New Zealand)
3. A-Yar-Taw People Strike
4. Action Committee for Democracy Development (ACDD)
5. Action Committee of Basic Education Students (ACBES)
6. Ah Nah Podcast
7. All Arakan Students’ & Youths’ Congress – AASYC
8. All Arakan Youth Organizations Network (AAYON)
9. All Aung Myay Thar San Schools Strike Force
10. All Burma Democratic Front in New Zealand
11. All Burma Federation of Student Unions (Monywa District)
12. Alliance of Students’ Union – Yangon (ASU-Yangon)
13. ALTSEAN-Burma
14. Anti-Junta Alliance Yangon – AJAY
15. Anti-junta Forces Coordination Committee (AFC – Mandalay)
16. Arakan CSO Network
17. Arakan Rohingya National Union (ARNU)
18. Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
19. Asian Health Institute
20. Association of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters (HRDP)
21. Association Suisse-Birmanie
22. Athan – Freedom of Expression Activist Organization
23. Auckland Kachin Community NZ
24. Auckland Zomi Community
25. Aung San Suu Kyi Park Norway
26. Ayeyarwaddy West Development Organisation (AWDO), Magway
27. Ayeyarwaddy West Development Organisation (AWDO), Nagphe
28. Back Pack Health Worker Team (BPHWT)
29. Basic Education General Strike Committee (BEGSC)
30. Basic Education Worker Unions – Steering Committee (BEWU-SC)
31. Blood Money Campaign (BMC)
32. Burma Action Ireland
33. Burma Campaign UK
34. Burma Civil War Museum (BCM)
35. Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN)
36. Burma Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK)
37. Burma Solidarity Philippines (BSP)
38. Burmese Community Group (Manawatu, NZ)
39. Burmese Muslim Association (BMA)
40. Burmese Rohingya Organization UK (BROUK)
41. Burmese Rohingya Welfare Organisation New Zealand
42. Campaign for a New Myanmar
43. CAN-Myanmar
44. CDM Medical Network (CDMMN)
45. Chanmyatharzi Township People’s Strike
46. Chaung Oo Township Youth Strike Committee
47. Chin Community in Norway
48. Chin Community of Auckland
49. Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO)
50. Chindwin (West) Villages Women Strike
51. CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
52. Civil Information Network (CIN)
53. Civil Society Organizations Coordination Committee (Monywa)
54. Co-operative University Mandalay Students’ Strike
55. Coalition Strike Committee – Dawei
56. CRPH & NUG Supporters Ireland
57. CRPH Funding Ireland
58. CRPH Support Group, Norway and members organizations
59. CRPH, NUG Support Team Germany – Deutschland
60. CSOs Nexus Consortium – Tanintharyi
61. Daung Sitthe Strike
62. Dawei (Ashaetaw) Women Strike
63. Dawei Development Association
64. Dawei Youths Revolutionary Movement Strike Committee
65. Defend Myanmar Democracy (DMD)
66. Democracy for Ethnic Minorities Organization (DEMO)
67. Democracy Youth Myanmar
68. Democracy, Peace and Women’s Organization
69. Democratic Party for a New Society, Norway
70. Depayin Township Revolution Steering Committee
71. Depayin Women Strike
72. Doh Atu – Ensemble pour le Myanmar
73. Educational Initiatives Prague
74. Equality Myanmar (EQMM)
75. Ethnic Youth General Strike Committee (Mandalay)
76. Federal Myanmar Benevolence Group (NZ)
77. Former Political Prisoners and New Generation Group – Monywa
78. Free Burma Campaign (South Africa) (FBC(SA))
79. Free Rohingya Coalition (FRC)
80. Future Light Center (FLC)
81. Gangaw Women Strike
82. General Strike Collaboration Committee (GSCC)
83. General Strike Committee of Basic and Higher Education (GSCBHE)
84. General Strike Coordination Body (GSCB)
85. Generation Wave (GW)
86. Generations’ Solidarity Coalition of Nationalities (GSCN)
87. German Solidarity Myanmar e.V. (GSM)
88. Global Myanmar Spring Revolution (GMSR)
89. GMSR Korea 글로벌 미얀마 봄혁명 연대
90. Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM)
91. India for Myanmar
92. Industries Strike
93. Info Birmanie
94. Integria, z.u.(Czech Republic)
95. International Association, Myanmar–Switzerland (IAMS)
96. International Campaign for the Rohingya
97. International Peace Bureau
98. Italia-Birmania.Insieme
99. Japan Campaign to Ban Landmines
100. Justice & Equality Focus (JEF)
101. Justice For Myanmar (JFM)
102.  K’cho Ethnic Association (Europe)
103. Kachin Association Norway
104. Kachin Student Union
105. Kachin Women’s Association Thailand (KWAT)
106. Kalay Township Strike Force
107. Kalay Women Strike
108. Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
109. Karen Peace Support Network (KPSN)
110. Karen Women’s Organization (KWO)
111. Karenni Human Rights Group (KnHRG)
112. Karenni National Women’s Organization (KNWO)
113. Karenni Society New Zealand
114. Keng Tung Youth
115. KontraS
116. Kyae Lak Myay
117. Kyain Seikgyi Spring Revolution Leading Committee
118. Kyauktada Strike Committee (KSC)
119. La Communauté Birmane de France
120. Latpadaung Region Strike Committee
121. Let’s Help Each Other (LHEO)
122. LGBT Alliance
123. LGBT Alliance Myanmar (Kalay Region)
124. LGBT Alliance Myanmar (Kyaukse Region)
125. LGBT Community Yangon
126. LGBT Union – Mandalay
127. Listeners (နားဆင်သူများအဖွဲ့ )
128. Magway People’s Revolution Committee
129. Magway Region Human Rights Network (MHRN)
130. Maharaungmyay Township People’s Strike
131. Mandalar University Students’ Strike
132. Mandalay Alliance Coalition Strike
133. Mandalay Medical Family (MFM)
134. Mandalay Strike Force (MSF)
135. Mandalay Women Strike
136. Mandalay Youth Strike
137. Mandalay-based People’s Strike
138. Mandalay-Based University Students’ Unions (MDY_SUs)
139. MATA Sagaing
140. MayMyo Strike Force
141. Mekong Watch
142. Metta Campaign Mandalay
143. Minority Affairs Institute (MAI Myanmar)
144. Monywa LGBT Strike
145. Monywa People’s Strike Steering Committee
146. Monywa Women Strike
147. Monywa-Amyint Road Strike Leading Committee
148. Monywa-Amyint Road Women Strike
149. Multi-Religions Strike
150. Mya Taung Strike
151. Myanmar Accountability Project (MAP)
152. Myanmar Action Group Denmark
153. Myanmar anti-military coup movement in New Zealand
154. Myanmar Campaign Network
155. Myanmar Catholic Community In Norway
156. Myanmar Community Group Christchurch New Zealand
157. Myanmar Community Group Dunedin New Zealand
158. Myanmar Community in Norway
159. Myanmar Cultural Research Society (MCRS)
160. Myanmar Engineers – New Zealand
161. Myanmar Gonye (New Zealand)
162. Myanmar Hindu Union
163. Myanmar Institute of Information Technology Students’ Strike
164. Myanmar Labor Alliance (MLA)
165. Myanmar People Alliance (Shan State)
166. Myanmar Students’ Union in New Zealand
167. Myanmar Tourism Committee
168. Myaung Youth Network
169. MyaYar Knowledge Tree
170. Myingyan Civilian Movement Committee
171. Nelson Myanmar Community Group New Zealand
172. Network for Human Rights Documentation–Burma (ND-Burma)
173. Network of University Student Unions – Monywa
174. New Myanmar Foundation (NMF)
175. New Rehmonnya Federated Force – NRFF
176. New York City Burmese community (NYCBC)
177. New Zealand Campaign for Myanmar
178. New Zealand Doctors for NUG
179. New Zealand Karen Association
180. New Zealand Zo Community Inc.
181. NLD Organization Committee (International) Norway
182. No Business With Genocide
183. No.12 Basic Education Branch High School (Maharaungmyay) Students’ Union
184. Norway Matu Community
185. Norway Rvwang Community
186. Nyan Lynn Thit Analytica
187. Olive organization
188. Overseas Mon Association. New Zealand
189. Pa-O Women’s Union (PWU)
190. Pale Township People’s Strike Steering Committee
191. Peace and Social Justice Group
192. Political Prisoners Network Myanmar (PPNM)
193. Progressive Voice (PV)
194. Purple Window Counselling
195. Pwintphyu Development Organisation
196. Pyi Gyi Tagon Strike Force
197. Pyithu Gonye (New Zealand)
198. Queers of Burma Alternative (QBA)
199. Representative Committee of University Teacher Associations (RC of UTAs)
200. Rohingya Community in Norway
201. Rvwang Community Association New Zealand
202. Samgha Sammaga-Mandalay
203. Save Myanmar Fundraising Group (New Zealand)
204. SEA Junction
205. Seinpann Strike
206. Shan Community (New Zealand)
207. Shan MATA
208. Shwe Pan Kone People`s Strike Steering Committee
209. Sisters2Sisters
210. Sitt Nyein Pann Foundation
211. Southern Initiatives
212. Southern Youth Development Organization
213. Sujata Sisters Group (NZ)
214. Support Group for Democracy in Myanmar (the Netherlands)
215. Swedish Burma Committee (SBC)
216. Ta’ang Students and Youth Union (TSYU)
217. Ta’ang Women’s Organization (TWO)
218. Taze Strike Committee
219. Taze Women Strike
220. Tenasserim River & Indigenous People Network
221. Thakhin Kodaw Mhine Peace Network (Monywa)
222. Thayat Chaung Women Strike
223. The 88 Generation Peace and Open Society (Monywa)
224. Twitter Team for Revolution (TTFR)
225. U.S. Campaign for Burma
226. University Students’ Unions Alumni Force
227. Volunteers in Myanmar
228. Wetlet Revolution Leading Committee
229. Wetlet Township Women Strike
230. White Coat Society Yangon (WCSY)
231. Women Alliance Burma (WAB)
232. Women Lead Resource Center (WLRC)
233. Women’s League of Burma (WLB)
234. Women’s Peace Network (WPN)
235. Yadanabon University Students’ Union (YDNBUSU)
236. Yangon Deaf Group
237. Yangon Women Strike
238. Yasakyo Township People`s Strike Steering Committee
239. Yinmarpin and Salingyi All Villages Strike Committee
240. Youth Empowerment (YE)
241. Youth for Democratization of Myanmar (UDM)
242. Zomi Christian Fellowship of Norway
243. Zomi Community Norway
244. ကရင်/ကြာအင်းဆိပ်ကြီးမြို့ သပိတ်အင်အားစု
245. ဂန့်ဂေါဖွံ့ဖြိုးတိုးတက်ရေးအဖွဲ့
246. နွေဦးရွက်သစ်
247. ပြည်သူ့သပိတ်အင်အားစု
248. မင်းဘူးတောင်သူများအစုအဖွဲ့
249. မင်းလှတောင်သူများအစုအဖွဲ့
250. မျိုးဆက်-Generations
251. မြင်းခြံလူထုလှုပ်ရှားမှုကော်မတီ
252. သမိုင်းသယ်ဆောင်သူများ
253. သောင်ရင်းသတင်းလွှာ
254. အညာလွင်ပြင်ရပ်ဝန်း

Additional Endorsements

1. Action Against Myanmar Military Coup (Sydney)
2. All Burma Student Democratic Front (ABSDF) – Australia Branch
3. All Young Burmese League (AYBL)
4. Australian Karen Organisation (AKO)
5. Australian Coalition for Democratic Burma (ACDB)
6. Burmese Community Development Collaboration (BCDC)
7. Burmese Community Support Grop (BCSG)
8. Burmese Medical Association Australia (BMAA)
9. Industrial Training Centre (ITC) Family Sydney
10. Kachin Association Australia (KAA)
11. Matu Chin Community – NSW/UPU Chin Association
12. Mindat Chin Community NSW
13. Mon National Council (MNC)
14. Myanmar Community Coffs Harbour (MCC)
15. Myanmar Engineering Association of Australia (MEAA)
16. Myanmar Professionals Association Australia (MPAA)
17. Myanmar Students’ Association Australia (MSAA) NSW Chapter
18. NLD Solidarity Association (NSW chapter)
19. NSW Karenni (Kayah) Communities
20. Sydney Friends for Myanmar Unity
21. Sydney Peace & Justice Coalition
22. We Pledge CDM (Australia)
23. Youth Heart Beams
24. Zomi Association Australia Inc.
25. Women Activists Myanmar (WAM)
26. Myanmar Ethnic Rohingya Human Rights Organization in Malaysia (MERHROM)

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