Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he had a “frank and constructive” discussion with Myanmar’s junta leader Min Aung Hlaing today.

In a Facebook post, Anwar said their discussion touched, among others, on the importance of “returning the country to normalcy”, adding that he would also meet with representatives of the National Unity Government (NUG).

The NUG and National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) form the Myanmar government-in-exile, which was established after a 2021 military coup that sparked widespread protests and civil unrest across the country.

Civil rights groups say the junta has arrested thousands of protesters and activists since the coup, which saw its military overthrow the democratically-elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy.

The coup plunged the nation into a multi-sided civil war which has seen at least three million people displaced, according to the United Nations.

Myanmar’s military government yesterday said it would release nearly 5,000 prisoners in an amnesty to mark the country’s new year festivities, reported AFP.

“I welcome recent steps to ease tensions, including the release last night of 4,800 detainees. Such gestures are a meaningful signal,” said Anwar.

Anwar also encouraged all parties to “engage seriously” in the interest of Myanmar’s stability and the wellbeing of its people.

Asean – which Malaysia is chairing this year – wants Myanmar to implement a five-point peace plan to halt the fighting, with the ruling generals barred from attending its meetings over their failure to comply.

He said he and Min discussed the immediate deployment of a field hospital in the country after the recent earthquake.

The devastating 7.7-magnitude earthquake that struck Myanmar on March 28 has claimed more than 5,300 lives and compounded the already critical humanitarian crisis in the country amid the civil war.

Yesterday, foreign minister Mohamad Hasan said the mission to deploy medical officers to Myanmar to set up a field hospital was postponed at the request of Myanmar’s authorities.