Malaysia asks US to stay out of its internal affairs

Putrajaya, Aug 9 : Foreign Minister Dr. Rais Yatim has asked the United States to stay out of Malaysia's internal affairs, reminding Washington to refrain from commenting on how the country handles its legal affairs.

Even the UN Secretary-General has not said anything on how Malaysia handles its legal matters, Dr. Rais said. He said responding to a statement by former US vice-president Al Gore that the Government was involved in "character assassination to silence an effective leader of the political opposition", said he would like to see the US discriminatory approach being scrutinised by others. He added that the United Nations should be the one playing the role of the world's policeman, and not the US, The Star reported.

"The UN Secretary-General has not uttered a word, meaning that he respects our laws and justice system; why should a lesser mortal from the US say that Malaysia is not up to their standards," he told reporters after a flag-hoisting ceremony in conjunction with the 41st Asean Day celebration at Wisma Putra on Friday Aug 8.

"Why should Gore and the US President give their evaluation of a country; does he not know the meaning of the UDHR (Universal Declaration of Human Rights) and the UN Charter - respect for the internal affairs of a country?"

Dr Rais added that Malaysia's Criminal Procedure Code and Penal Code originated from Common Law and there was no reason for any other power to criticise the country's administration of justice.

ANI