Malaysia's red-carpet welcome for Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing undermines its stance on international justice and emboldens other leaders facing atrocity allegations.
01Summary
- 01Malaysian PM Anwar Ibrahim hosted Min Aung Hlaing in Putrajaya on 8 October with a guard of honour and official luncheon, the junta chief's first visit since the 2021 coup.
- 02Nine days earlier, Malaysia sent 1,476 Myanmar nationals back by sea, the first phase of a plan to return 5,000 people, amid fears returns are not voluntary.
- 03Since May, online hate speech targeting Rohingya has surged; by late July at least nine Rohingya community schools had closed and more than 100 Rohingya in Penang were driven from their village.
- 04In November 2024, Anwar said ICC arrest warrants for Netanyahu and his defence minister should be enforced, but he now welcomes a leader for whom the ICC prosecutor has sought an arrest warrant for alleged crimes against humanity.
- 05The Trump administration sanctioned the ICC on 9 October, hours after former ICC judge Navi Pillay won the Nobel Peace Prize.
02Why it matters
The decision weakens the principle that leaders accused of atrocities face diplomatic isolation, emboldens the Trump administration's assault on the ICC, and threatens the safety of Rohingya refugees in Malaysia by legitimising hardline rhetoric.
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