SINGAPORE, Nov 13 — Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has continued his criticism of Myanmar’s Aung San Suu Kyi today amid the Asean Summit 2018, accusing her of trying to "defend the indefensible” by downplaying the massacre of the Rohingya people.

The prime minister said massacre and genocide may have been perpetrated in ancient times, but it is no longer tolerable in modern times.

"We are very disappointed because someone who has been detained before should know the sufferings and shouldn’t inflict it on others.

"It would seem that Aung San Suu Kyi is trying to defend what is indefensible,” he told reporters at the Asean Business and Investment Summit here.

Dr Mahathir reiterated that Asean would like to resolve the problem by helping the Rohingya return to Myanmar, where they should be treated as citizens.

He compared the situation to the formation of Malaysia, saying foreign migrants had settled "by the tonnes” but the federal government had welcomed them and did not persecute them based on their ethnicities.

In September, Dr Mahathir said Putrajaya will no longer support Aung San Suu Kyi following her inaction against the poor treatment of Rohingyas in her country, and admitted that he has "lost all faith” in her.

A brutal military campaign drove more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims from Myanmar into neighbouring Bangladesh, where they now live in cramped refugee camps.

A United Nations fact-finding mission on Myanmar found "crimes against humanity have been committed against the Rohingya” and that these acts were sanctioned by top Myanmar military commanders.

Yesterday, Amnesty International withdrew its highest honour, the Ambassador of Conscience Award, from Suu Kyi, accusing her actions as "shameful betrayal of the values she once stood for”.