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Anwar’s ASEAN: A peaceful future at risk

January 31, 2025

RHODE ISLAND – Earlier this month, Malaysia assumed the chairmanship of ASEAN, with the aim of fostering political stability and economic prosperity for its members.

The organization, which has been wrought with division in recent years, looked to be transitioning to a safe pair of hands in Anwar Ibrahim, a human rights advocate.

However, the developing composition of Ibrahim’s top team in recent weeks has sparked serious concern.

The inclusion of Cambodia’s former prime minister Hun Sen as a “personal advisor” to the Malaysian leader is particularly troubling, given Sen’s propensity for violence and track record of rolling back democratic freedoms. It suggests, contrary to the talk of a shift toward greater protection of human rights and democratic principles by ASEAN under Malaysia’s chairmanship, the opposite will ensue.

Hun Sen, who ruled Cambodia for almost four decades, consolidated his regime through methods widely criticized as authoritarian. His government suppressed dissent, dismantled opposition parties, jailed and exiled political opposition and controlled the media to maintain a political monopoly.

The recent assassination of Lim Kimya, a former opposition MP living in exile in France, bore the hallmarks of transnational aggression that characterized Hun Sen’s rule, and which continues today under his son, Hun Manet.

Allies of the Cambodian regime believe Hun Sen’s appointment could help bring “peace” in Myanmar, a country that has been embroiled in a bloody civil war since 2021. But these blatant displays of opposition repression undermine his credibility as a proponent of peace and democracy, raising questions about why he should now be trusted to shape regional policy.

Indeed, his unilateral

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