SINGAPORE, June 1 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Najib Razak said here Sunday that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) should play a bigger role in providing relief to cyclone-hit Myanmar.

    He told an Asian security conference that Malaysia welcomes Myanmar trust and confidence in the 10-member bloc's lead role in coordinating foreign humanitarian aid and assistance.

    He also urged Myanmar, a member of ASEAN to let the regional grouping to do more, saying "Certainly ... we would like to see ASEAN being allowed to play a much bigger role because the situation is very, very serious in Myanmar."

    In his speech "Restoring peace in complex emergencies", he called for efforts to develop the capacity-building of the ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance to enable it to undertake assistance in a more effective manner.

    "First, it has to be recognized that military is a critical component in Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief," he said.

    He said management of the center, which was set up in 2005 and would be fully operational by the end of this year, should be such that it can provide the leadership for regional response.

    He also called for close coordination and cooperation to achieve unity of efforts in view of the involvement of multiple agencies.