MALAYSIA NOT KNEELING TO ANY COUNTRY - PM NAJIB

From Khairdzir Md Yunus

TOKYO, April 21 (Bernama) -- Establishing good relations with foreign
countries does not mean kneeling to any country, said Prime Minister
Najib Tun Razak.

He said Malaysia would indeed not kowtow to anyone as it had its own stand
based on its policies and principles.

Addressing Malaysian students in Japan here Tuesday night, Najib said his
visit to the United States recently did not mean that Malaysia was kowtowing to
the Americans as claimed by certain quarters in Malaysia.

The prime minister visited the U.S. recently at the invitation of
President Barack Obama to attend the Nuclear Security Summit, during which he
was one of nine world leaders invited for a bilateral meeting with Obama.

Najib said it was a great honour for Malaysia to be among nine selected
countries given the opportunity to have a bilateral meeting with the United
States president.

He said the meeting should not be misconstrued as kneeling to the
superpower
as Malaysia was respected for its success.

"Moreover, only 40 countries were invited to attend the summit while 140
others were not.

"I do not think I want to kowtow to the United States," he said at the event
organised by the Mara Education Foundation and attended by more than 300 members
of the Malaysian community in Japan, including students.

Najib said he might differ in his approach from other leaders as he opted
for closer engagement with the U.S.

"This is better as we can criticise them as a close friend or as a friend
with mutual respect," he added.

He said criticism coming from a friend in a friendly manner was more easily
accepted than hostile criticism.

The slanderous remarks hurled against him might be related to the Hulu
Selangor parliamentary seat by-election this Sunday, he said, adding that he
would visit the constituency Wednesday afternoon.

Hulu Selangor is a district in Selangor, Malaysia. It is located in the
northeastern part of Selangor.

He said the accusation against him was unethical and baseless.

"That is why I worked harder, I went to the United States, Saudi Arabia and
now Japan to correct the misconception following distorted stories being
circulated," he said.

Najib said in his visit to several countries, he took the opportunity to
clarify the country's direction and the response he got was that they
were very interested in Malaysia's new direction, including the New Economic
Model, the Government's Transformation Programme and the 1Malaysia concept after
hearing his explanation.

Present were his wife Rosmah Mansor, acting Foreign Minister
Dr Rais Yatim, who is also Information Communication and Culture
Minister, and Malaysian ambassador to Japan Shaharuddin Md Som.

-- BERNAMA



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