The Singapore government has come out publicly to urge Myanmar to make more determined and visible progress on its roadmap to democracy. (boxun.com)

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Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, who met Myanmar's Prime Minister Soe Win on the sidelines of the ASEAN summit in Laos, expressed his concern at thesituation in Myanmar.

Mr Lee's press secretary said Mr Lee expressed his concern as the situation in Myanmar affected ASEAN's standing and credibility.

Such concerns are usually expressed behind closed doors at ASEAN meetings.

Mr Lee also had a call with the Prime Minister of Laos, Bounnhang Vorachith, before ASEAN leaders attended an informal working dinner.

Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra will push ASEAN leaders at a summit in Laos to address the lack of political reform in military-ruled Myanmar, a source of growing embarrassment to the group, officials said on Sunday. Thaksin, who is due to have a working breakfast with the former Burma's new Prime Minister, Soe Win, on Tuesday, wants Yangon to brief the Association South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) members on the stuttering progress of its "roadmap to democracy"."Prime Minister Thaksin will suggest at the summit that ASEAN leaders should have an informal discussion on Myanmar to learn about the latest situation there," government chief spokesman Jakrapob Penkair said.

"But that request would need to be agreed upon by Myanmar," he added.

ASEAN has set its reform hopes on the democary roadmap, which Western governments have dismissed as a sham, particularly while opposition leader and Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi remains under house arrest.

A draft summit communique obtained by Reuters on Saturday suggested ASEAN would duck the issue, even though secretary general Ong Keng Yong had promised "a lot of hard questions" for Yangon's reclusive generals.

"Thailand insists on its stand that it would like to see gradual development of democracy in Myanmar. We understand their constraints and we always give them moral support for their development to democracy," Jakrapob said.

Thaksin is due to arrive in Vientiane later on Sunday, where he will have an informal meeting his Malaysian and Indonesian counterparts to discuss the Muslim violence in southern Thailand, Jakrapob said.

Citing ASEAN's custom of not interfering in internal national matters, Thaksin said he would fly straight home if the unrest, which has claimed nearly 500 lives this year, was brought up at Monday's summit.

Southeast Asian countries should reconsider their policy of not interfering in each other's internal affairs and step up pressure on Myanmar to speed up democratic reforms, lawmakers from the region said Sunday.

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations has failed to curb "a political and humanitarian crisis in Myanmar" that has resulted in widespread human rights violations, legislators from seven ASEAN countries said after a two-day conference in Malaysia.

"After over a decade, ASEAN's constructive engagement policy has yet to yield the desired results for change," the more than 40 lawmakers said in a joint statement. "Broader changes in Myanmar can only be effected with pressure from other ASEAN governments."

ASEAN should consider suspending Myanmar's membership and block it from taking its turn as the regional grouping's chair in 2006 if the ruling junta refuses to release pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi and work toward political reconciliation, the statement said.

The recommendations at the conference, which parallels an ASEAN summit in Laos, were nonbinding on ASEAN members.

Myanmar, also known as Burma, has been ruled by the military since 1962. The current junta called elections in 1990, but refused to hand over power when Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy won a landslide victory. Suu Kyi has been under arrest since May 2003.

"It is our view that the ASEAN governments have been soft," said Malaysian government lawmaker Zaid Ibrahim. "If affects ASEAN's credibility."

The lawmakers agreed to establish an ASEAN caucus of parliamentarians to further discuss the issue at a meeting in the Philippines in April. The meeting would likely be open to lawmakers from other regions, including Europe. (boxun.com)