KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Myanmar's junta chief-turned-president Min Aung Hlaing arrived in Malaysia on Wednesday for talks with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, as the military-backed leader once shunned by regional nations seeks international legitimacy.
The two-day visit comes as Malaysia pushes ahead with a controversial move to repatriate thousands of Myanmar nationals, despite warnings from the United Nations and rights groups that returnees could face serious danger amid a raging civil war.
"The visit provides the prime minister with an opportunity to sustain his direct engagement with Myanmar," the Malaysian government said in a statement on Tuesday.
Key issues include the "voluntary, dignified and safe repatriation of Myanmar nationals of all ethnic groups who have been in Malaysia illegally," it added.
Myanmar has been in turmoil since Min Aung Hlaing led a military coup in 2021, triggering a nationwide civil war that has killed an estimated 100,000 people and displaced more than 3.5 million.
The military engineered a widely criticised election that allowed Min Aung Hlaing, who is subject to a raft of Western sanctions, to take up a civilian role — a transition that has sparked some moves towards re-engagement with Myanmar.
Although Min Aung Hlaing and other senior Myanmar officials have been excluded from summits of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) since 2021 over their failure to implement an ASEAN-brokered peace roadmap, individual countries in the region have moved to rebuild ties with Naypyitaw.
Since formally becoming president in April, Min Aung Hlaing has visited ASEAN members Thailand, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam, and also made trips to China, India, Russia and Belarus.
Min Aung Hlaing was accorded a guard of honour upon his arrival on Wednesday afternoon at Kuala Lumpur International Airport, where he was greeted by Malaysia's trade minister Johari Abdul Ghani, state news agency Bernama reported.
On Thursday, he is expected to receive a formal welcoming ceremony at Anwar's office complex, before attending a bilateral meeting and an official luncheon with the prime minister, Bernama said.
DOMESTIC PRESSURE
Muslim-majority Malaysia had been one of the biggest critics of a brutal 2017 military crackdown in Myanmar's Rakhine state that saw thousands of ethnic Rohingya Muslims flee across the border to seek refuge in neighbouring Bangladesh.
Public sentiment in Malaysia however began turning against Rohingya refugees during the COVID-19 pandemic, when they were accused of spreading the virus and taking away jobs from locals.
A fresh wave of online hate speech and misinformation targeting the Rohingya earlier this year has renewed scrutiny and pressure on refugees and other undocumented migrants in Malaysia, which is not a signatory to the UN refugee convention.
Last month, Anwar said in a podcast that he would invite Min Aung Hlaing for an official visit if Myanmar accepted the return of thousands of Rohingya refugees.
"Under pressure to send refugees back, Anwar needs Naypyitaw's cooperation, and a visit is the price," said Richard Horsey, senior Asia adviser at the International Crisis Group.
"He says this is not recognition, but Min Aung Hlaing will present it as exactly that."
Malaysia has deported around 10,000 Myanmar nationals since January, according to Anwar, who said Myanmar authorities had given assurances those returning would not be harmed.
Although Malaysia has said the repatriations are strictly voluntary, the UN has raised concerns about the move, warning that people sent back to Myanmar may face serious risks.
Rights groups have also urged Malaysia to halt the returns, citing the ongoing violence and risk of forced conscription.
There are about 193,000 registered refugees and asylum seekers from Myanmar in Malaysia, according to UN data.
DEADLY AIRSTRIKES CONTINUE
Despite repeated calls for an end to the violence, including from the 11-member ASEAN grouping, the civil war in Myanmar continues unabated.
The Myanmar military has carried out several airstrikes within the last fortnight in Rakhine state, where it is battling a rebel group, killing at least 58 people and injuring dozens of others, including at a busy market.
The attack was the deadliest since a December hospital bombing and drew condemnation from UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
In a statement to Reuters, ASEAN's current chair, the Philippines, also expressed concern over the airstrike.
"Nothing in the region's response gives Naypyitaw any reason to think they will come at a diplomatic cost, including Min Aung Hlaing's red carpet in Kuala Lumpur," said Crisis Group's Horsey.
(Reporting by Reuters Staff and Rozanna Latiff, Editing by Devjyot Ghoshal, Kate Mayberry and Kim Coghill)
