They said the courtesy visit sent a bad message to the rest of the region and contradicted regional and national opposition to the junta regime.
Images circulated on social media today showed Malaysian ambassador Zahairi Baharim meeting Aung Than Oo in Myanmar’s capital, Naypyidaw.
He is said to be the first Southeast Asian minister to have met formally with a member of the newly-installed government.
Klang MP Charles Santiago said the meeting sent mixed messages at a time when the rest of Southeast Asia was working to find a solution to the political unrest in Myanmar.
Hundreds of peaceful protesters were reported to have died at the hands of the military, with thousands more detained.
“It sends the wrong message to Asean because other countries will think that while we talk about rule of law, a return to democracy, etc, here is our ambassador doing something else,” he told FMT, adding that the visit seemed to offer legitimacy to the regime.
He said that it signalled to the Myanmar army that Malaysia was willing to work with them, although Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has said he stood with the rest of the region in support of finding a peaceful solution to the crisis, backing calls from Indonesian president Joko Widodo for an emergency summit involving regional leaders.
“If I were the foreign minister (Hishammuddin Hussein), I would recall the ambassador and replace him,” Santiago said, stating that the envoy’s action was not in line with the country’s position.
“The question is, does the foreign minister have control over his ambassadors? Clearly, the answer is ‘no’ because he is acting inconsistently with the message put out by his own government and ministry.”
Subang MP Wong Chen called the meeting “absolutely inappropriate” and said it demands an immediate response from the Malaysian government.
“The visit is extremely insensitive to the plight of peaceful democratic protesters,” he said.
“The (Malaysian) government has to immediately explain the nature of the visit and what was discussed.”
FMT has reached out to Wisma Putra, which said it was still looking into the matter.