The political stalemate in Burma raised tensions at the meeting last night and again today after Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar, Asean's special envoy to the country, said he had failed to complete his fact-finding mission in Rangoon last month.

Syed Hamid said yesterday he was not happy with his recent visit as the junta only allowed him to see the government's side and failed to grant him access to all political stakeholders, as planned. He cut short his visit from three to two days after he failed to see opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

"I am not totally happy ... there are still more things that need to be done," Syed Hamid told reporters upon his arrival in Ubud.

Kantathi yesterday privately met Syed Hamid and their Burmese counterpart Nyan Win to discuss the matter and explore ways to speed up political reform.

The Asean ministers are expected to produce measures to engage the junta and move national reconciliation and democratisation forward, he said, hinting that a second visit to Rangoon by the Asean envoy is possible.

Official sources said Nyan Win came to the Asean meeting in a defensive mode and is unlikely to make any commitment to speed up political reform at home.

Nyan Win was quoted as saying to many Asean ministers he met that Burma is ready to receive any visitor and listen to any suggestion, but that political reform is a domestic affair, which the junta reserved the right to implement on its own.

In a bilateral meeting with Nyan Win, Kantathi offered to help Burma fight the bird-flu outbreak that has spread rapidly across the central part of the country. 

Supalak Ganjanakhundee

The Nation

Ubud, Indonesia