Malaysia has appointed a new ASEAN special envoy to Myanmar to try and implement the regional bloc’s stalled peace plan for the war-torn country.

ASEAN is progressing cautiously on Myanmar as it is critical to secure peace in the country, said Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. He

The prime minister says the long-running conflict in Myanmar has impacted peace and security across the region.

Southeast Asian nations told Myanmar's military government on Sunday its plan to hold an election amid an escalating civil war should not be its priority, urging the junta to start dialogue and end hostilities immediately.

Malaysia’s chairmanship of ASEAN offers hope for mitigating the longstanding crisis in Myanmar, UN Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar, Julie Bishop, said. In her address, during an ASEAN Plenary entitled “Even Stronger Together” at the World Economic Forum (WEF) 2025 on Wednesday,

Southeast Asian foreign ministers are gathering for their first meeting this year under the regional bloc’s new chair, Malaysia, seeking a breakthrough over Myanmar’s drawn-out civil war and territorial disputes in the South China Sea.

The bloc says that any poll must be “inclusive,” but it has limited power to deter the junta from its election plans.

(Reuters) - Foreign ministers of the Southeast Asian bloc ASEAN at a weekend retreat upheld their decision to bar Myanmar’s ruling generals from their summits and limit the country's participation to a non-political level, said Malaysia who currently holds the chairmanship on Monday.

The regional bloc told a junta representative at a meeting that a poll is “not a priority at the moment," Malaysia’s foreign minister said.

While committed to regional issues, Malaysia is tempering expectations for immediate solutions, acknowledging the complexity of both crises.

ASEAN's fifth envoy to Myanmar, Tan Sri Othman Hashim, appointed during the bloc's meeting of foreign ministers.

A group of 49 Rohingya migrants travelling by boat from Bangladesh to Malaysia was found on Tuesday near a beach on Thailand's popular island of Phuket, police told AFP.