Dr Abdul Razak Ahmad, the Founding Director of Bait Al Amanah was very pleased to meet with Japan's Special Envoy for National Reconciliation in Myanmar, Tan Sri Yohei Sasakawa, where they engaged in a lengthy discussion on Myanmar crisis and the role of ASEAN in navigating it.
Since the unsettling 2021 coup, Myanmar continues to grapple with escalating violence as ASEAN finds itself at a crossroad to address the significant political, economic and humanitarian crises unfolding within one of its member states. The efforts to implement effective policies has been hampered by the bloc's fragmented voice in addressing this crisis. Regrettably, the Five-Point Consensus peace plan endorsed in April 2021 has been inadequately enforced and only partially implemented thus far.
In his capacity as a Special Envoy of the Government of Japan for National Reconciliation in Myanmar, Tan Sri Sasakawa has been actively promoting dialogue between the Myanmar government and ethnic armed organisations to build mutual trust in restoring peace and democracy in the region.
Yohei Sasakawa is also a Chairman of The Nippon Foundation, a private, non-profit foundation established in 1962 for the purpose of carrying out philanthropic activities, using revenue from motorboat racing.