Dr Mahathir Mohamad said it would be better for Myanmar to be excluded from ASEAN because genocide is unacceptable, according to a report in The Star on June 11.
The former Malaysian prime minister urged ASEAN as well as the United Nations to take action against Myanmar.
"Countries like this only give a bad name to us. So, if you want to commit genocide, leave ASEAN," he said.
"Myanmar has not responded to requests to be more humane, instead they continue merciless killing of people, and this should not be the case," he said while delivering his keynote speech at the international conference themed “Plight of the Rohingya, crime against humanity.”
He added that the United Nations should be asked to do something about it.
"Although they are not capable of doing anything, we need to push for it. I even wrote a letter to Aung Sang Suu Kyi on this matter, but there has been no response, so the fate of the people there needs to be defended from the outside," he said.