ASEAN TO DISCUSS ROHINGYAS AS PART OF INDIAN OCEAN MIGRANTS

n a separate press conference, Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said the Leaders also decided that member countries should not pass the Rohingya problem to their neighbors and instead tackle the issue together.

"Myanmar did not mention anything (about Rohingya). We recognized the issue, otherwise it's not good for us," he said.

Asked about human rights and democracy in Myanmar, Abdullah said the meeting did ask Thein Sein about the progress in the country, adding that the issue of detained pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi was not brought up.

"But it's better (for media) to ask the Myanmar Prime Minister to talk. I can't speak on his behalf," he said, adding that the Myanmar Government had told Asean during the last Summit in Singapore that it preferred to deal with the United Nations rather than Asean on the matter.

Abdullah pointed out the progress made by UN Special Envoy to Myanmar, Ibrahim Gambari who had made seven visits to the military-ruled nation.

According to the premier, Myanmar had released 6,000 political detainees as requested by Gambari, who is also the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights.