A lawmaker has called the proposal “divisive”, while a major interfaith group raised constitutional concerns and framed it as part of a wider push by Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) for a theocratic Islamic state.

The remains will be turned over to police forensic investigators for "proper disposition and identification" before local authorities are allowed to inform family members, says a coast guard spokesperson.

Conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, along with global trade turbulence and energy security, are expected to dominate the two-day meeting of the 11-nation bloc.

Rescuers in Nepal have retrieved 1,385 bodies, while around 5,130 people are missing, according to the disaster agency on Friday.