Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee, , 26:15 to 32:10
The committee examines Malaysia's leadership within ASEAN and the role of the UN Special Envoy in addressing the Myanmar crisis. Witnesses advocate for a cross-border humanitarian assistance model similar to the United Nations' approach in Syria.
Topics: Pacific relations, Human rights
Speakers: Dr Tun Aung Shwe, Dean Smith, Hon Sarah Henderson
>> I do. Would you like to reflect on the success of the Malaysian leadership of AAM? >> Yes. and how Malaysia's leadership might set a positive model or a positive template for future Asian engagement.
>> Yeah. So, Malaysian chairmanship last year make a significant move for the Assean intervention on the >> positive move. Very positive. Yeah, very positive. So the very significant thing is Malaysia prime minister had a meeting with the NUG prime minister. This is ever first time uh the counterparts meeting officially and openly and then Malaysian government and its special envoy to Myamma office uh hold a series of stakeholder engagement meeting. So I will I also attended the four meetings in Kolan last year as part of the UG delegation. So during the process uh we reached to the common uh political agreements that uh hug and then the alliance organization going to participate with the assean fivepoint consensus on the three important agendas. So humanitarian assistant constructive dialogues and then the uh another thing is uh humanitarian dialogue and sision of violence. So we do have a we able to achieve the common political agreement on these three agendas and then very luckily the successor of the Malaysian chairmanship the Philippine government and its special envoy continue carry on the Malaysia process the same format same commitments
>> has the national unity government been able to impress upon the United Nations special envoy for Myanmar uh Miss Bishop, the primacy and urgency of sanctions on uh aviation fuel, improved sanctions and stronger sanctions.
>> Uh we do have a very limited uh not limited. So according to from my point of view the UN special envoy to Myamma has a very limited access to that area that we had a meeting with uh with her last year uh in part with my diaspora organization and myself and she explained a lot about her uh achievement and also the engagement with the various stakeholders. But in terms of the section regimes, she has a very limited uh capacity to to reach on this kind of uh intervention.
>> Technical limitation perhaps, but people can use their voice and their positions and their authority to speak up on issues. >> Yeah. Would you like to hear the United Nations special envoy talk more about the primacy of the aviation fuel issue and the importance of tackling that in order to bring uh significant um disruption to the military's regime in Myanmar and to improve the livelihoods of those women and children and people in hospitals and churches and schools uh so that they can at least be free from um you know this reign of terror that the regime is able to um you know disperse across many many many parts of Myanmar through its um through its you know um air strikes against innocent people. Would you like the United Nations to speak up on that issue?
>> Yes, definitely. And then I requested her because she had a significant achievement regarding the Syria situation when she was a foreign minister of the Australia. So according to her efforts the UN agency in the neighboring country of the Syria are able to provide the crossborder uh humanitarian assistant to Syria. So I requested her to consider this similar approach for Myamma because of the UN agency in Yango are not able to reach out to those in needs because of people in the the most vulnerable communities and victims are live in the uh contested area and our control area. So UN agency have very limited uh effort to to to to reach out to them. So if UN agency in neighboring country India, Thailand, Laos and Bangladesh able to provide the crossber assistant that can make a
>> So when we think about humanitarian assistance, a key a key point of advocacy should be trying to replicate the UN experience in Syria in Myanmar. >> Yeah. to provide cross to allow for crossborder UN um support so that in the remote areas perhaps the border of India and uh northwestern Burma in Chinstate but also across the across the Thai border. the Syrian experience and model would be a very very effective um humanitarian model uh to be deployed now in regards to the Myanmar crisis.
>> Yes.
>> Thank you very much.
>> And thank you Smith.
>> Thank you very much, Senator Smith. Thank you so much for your uh attendance this morning. We we are most grateful. Uh the committee would appreciate if responses to questions on notice are provided by Friday the 27th of February 2026. Again, thank you so much.
>> Thank you so much, Mr. Chair.