Obama warns against repression of Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar

US President Barack Obama has warned that ethnic and religious conflicts could move Myanmar in a "very bad direction".

He praised the "courageous process" of political reform taking place in a country formerly led by a military junta, but warned that democratisation after years of repression brought its own perils.

"Myanmar won't succeed if the Muslim population is oppressed," Obama said at a town hall-style meeting during a visit to Muslim-majority Malaysia yesterday.

He was referring to the Muslim Rohingya minority in Rakhine state, which has been subjected to persecution at the hands of Buddhist nationalists.

"The danger now that they are democratising is that there are different ethnic groups and different religions inside Myanmar," Obama said.

"If people start organising politically around the religious identity or their ethnic identity ... then you can actually start seeing conflicts ... that could move Myanmar in a very bad direction.