Malaysia An Exemplary Muslim Country - US Senators

KUALA LUMPUR, May 31 (Bernama) -- Two visiting US Senators regard Malaysia as an exemplary Muslim country which has successfully shown amazing progress, economically and socially. Senator John McCain and Senator Joseph Lieberman, who are on a visit here, said they were very impressed with the country's development, especially in areas of entrepreneurship and practice of free enterprise. "We are very impressed with the entrepreneurship, the freer price system here and the economic process that we have observed, and are very proud to have the opportunity to be here," said McCain at a joint media conference with Lieberman, here on Thursday. The US Senators' visit to Malaysia from May 30 until June 1 is on the invitation of the Malaysian Business Council to attend the Invest Malaysia 2012 Conference, which was launched by Prime Minister Najib Razak on Tuesday. They paid a courtesy call on Najib and Foreign Minister Anifah Aman on Wednesday, besides meeting with business and civil society leaders as well as opposition party representatives to discuss various issues. McCain said the US also looked forward to a fair and free election in Malaysia. "We believe it will take place in the coming months. We know that there are a number of issues surrounding the election, including the 22-point recommendation...we will do everything we can to assist and see that it is a free and fair election," said McCain, who is the Arizona representative. The Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) had on April submitted its final report on electoral reforms to the Dewan Rakyat, listing a total of 22 recommendations for the Election Commission (EC) to improve the country’s election process. Lieberman, meanwhile, expressed hope that Malaysia would allow international observers to monitor the upcoming general election. "I know the Malaysian government has appointed the electoral reform committee and some independent people to monitor the election. This is a very constructive and significant step forward," he said. On another issue, the two senators mutually agreed that the behaviour of Syrian leader Bashar Al-Assad and recent massacre of women and children were disgusting. "It is shameful that the UN Security Council should again be hindered by Russia and China by their vetoes for action against Syria and it is also embarrassing for the US to refuse to show leadership and come to the aid of the Syrian people," Mccain said. On the issue of China's military build-up and dispute over the South China Sea (SCS), McCain and Lieberman agreed that the US did not envision any kind of confrontation with China, but admitted to some concern over certain aspects of China's behaviour with regard to the troubled waters. The SCS disputes have been regarded as Asia's most potentially dangerous point of conflict with both the People's Republic of China and Republic of China claiming almost the entire body as their own. The claims also overlap with virtually every other country in the region including Indonesia, Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Cambodia and Thailand. -- BERNAMA