Speaking at the Kuala Lumpur Peace Conference 2025, Azam said a one-year term was “not practical” for Malaysia to create impact or continuity on regional humanitarian and political challenges, citing the South Thailand border tensions and the protracted Rohingya refugee situation.
“Two or three years would be more fruitful,” he said.
As of end-May 2025, some 117,670 Rohingya were registered as refugees or asylum seekers with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Malaysia.
The Asean chairmanship rotates annually among its 10 member states based on the alphabetical order of the English names of the member countries. According to Article 31 of the Asean Charter, the member state assuming the chairmanship will hold it for one calendar year.
Azam also said that while Asean appears united “on paper”, Malaysia often finds itself “alone” when dealing with humanitarian crises. He urged wealthier Asean countries, particularly Singapore and Brunei, to contribute funds for refugee education programmes.
“If more financially-strong members can help, especially in education, our responsibility will be less heavy,” he said.
He also called for greater investment in education rather than detention, stating that governments often view refugees as a security issue, rather than a humanitarian issue.
“We should educate them, not put them in prisons. Then when conditions in Myanmar improve, they can return as skilled engineers, or technicians,” he said.
Universiti Teknologi Mara senior lecturer Ramlan Arshad, meanwhile, cautioned against isolating Myanmar, urging Asean to remain open to engagement.
“Don’t keep Myanmar out. We must keep the door open for cooperation,” said Ramlan, who is with the university’s faculty of administrative science and policy studies.
The session, part of a discussion on Myanmar and the Rohingya at the conference, explored how Asean could move towards a more unified and practical regional mechanism for refugees while maintaining its humanitarian commitments.
Myanmar’s current crisis involves the military junta ending its state of emergency in parts of the country while preparing for planned elections in late 2025, amid ongoing armed conflict, widespread resistance, and international concerns that the polls are a strategy to legitimise continued military rule without genuine democratic reform.
Asean has repeatedly called for full and meaningful implementation of the five-point consensus (5PC) on Myanmar, specifically on the cessation of hostilities, unhindered humanitarian access and inclusive dialogue with Myanmar stakeholders.