Cambodia’s New ASEAN Special Envoy to Myanmar Will Be Scrutinised In January Retreat - FM Saifuddin Abdullah

By Nabilah Saleh KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 16 (Bernama) -- Cambodia’s move to appoint its Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn as the ASEAN chair’s new special envoy to Myanmar will definitely be high on the agenda during the bloc’s Foreign Ministers Retreat next month, said Foreign Minister Saifuddin Abdullah. He said the appointment announced by the country’s Prime Minister Hun Sen on Wednesday would still be discussed through consensus as to ensure continuity of related matters especially the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus on Myanmar, reached in April by ASEAN leaders. “I suppose that Cambodia just made the announcement. Because at the end of the day, we (ASEAN) go through the consensus way of decision making. I don't think there will be any objection. “As Cambodia will be the ASEAN Chair starting January and with PM Hun Sen’s visit to Myanmar scheduled on Jan 7-8, we’ll be watching very closely and awaiting a report from him. “We are looking forward for this retreat in January for us to really ask hard questions and do some soul-searching as to how we go about handling the issue of Myanmar,” Saifuddin told Bernama after a meeting with deaf musician Jeshurun Vincent at Institute of Diplomacy and Foreign Relations (IDFR), Wednesday. International media reported that Hun Sen would name the country's Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn as the ASEAN chair's new special envoy to Myanmar, succeeding the bloc's current ASEAN special envoy, Brunei's Second Foreign Minister Erywan Pehin Yusof. In April this year, ASEAN came up with the 5-point consensus to tackle the deteriorating socio-political situation in the country following the Feb 1 military coup that unleashed a spate of confrontations between civilians and security forces leaving more than 1,000 people dead. -- BERNAMA