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Jokowi, Muhyiddin call for special ASEAN meeting on Myanmar
The Myanmar coup was among the biggest issues that President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo and Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin raised during their first in-person meeting in Jakarta, on Friday.
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President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo (right) waves to the press alongside Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin on the verandah of the Presidential Palace in Jakarta, on Friday, Feb. 5, 2021. Jokowi played host to the Malaysian leader in the latter's first state visit to Indonesia. (ANTARA FOTO/Setpres/Laily Rachev)
P
resident Joko “Jokowi” Widodo and Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin have instructed their top diplomats to initiate a regional meeting to respond to the political crisis unraveling in Myanmar this week, as expectations mount on ASEAN to come up with a common position on the situation.
Jokowi hosted Muhyiddin, the third Malaysian leader he has worked with since assuming office in 2014, during the latter’s maiden visit to Jakarta on Friday.
The occasion was Muhyiddin’s first official visit abroad since becoming prime minister last year, shortly after the COVID-19 outbreak led to worldwide travel restrictions.
The visit was conducted under very strict health protocols and with a small entourage, with preparations led by Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi and her Malaysian counterpart Hishammuddin Hussein.
In addition to speaking on a wide range of bilateral issues, Jokowi said he and the Malaysian PM talked in detail about their concerns on the developments in Myanmar.
As two major democracies in Southeast Asia, the President said Indonesia and Malaysia were concerned about the political repercussions from the coup on the country’s civilian government, which the junta overthrew based on unfounded allegations of election fraud.
Myanmar State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League of Democracy won an election in November last year by a landslide victory.
