PETALING JAYA, Oct 13 — Malaysia has good ties with other nations and allows their ships to dock here, except those from Israel, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
He said the arrival of two naval ships from China at Penang Port recently should be blown out of proportion.
“We have joint military operations in our areas with the United States, China, Singapore, Indonesia and India, so what is the problem?
“To me, there is no problem as this has been going on for a long time. During the previous government (administrations) with PAS (and) Bersatu, Israeli aircraft could pass through and docking at our ports was no issue, but now it has become an issue.
“We want to clarify our good relations with other countries. Their ships want to dock at our ports, we allow them, no compromise, those we do not allow are from Israel. The others can dock. That’s the policy we adopt, but now it has become an issue,” he said.
The Prime Minister said this when officiating the Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia annual general meeting here today.
Anwar said allegations by certain parties about the arrival of the ships was as if they were ready to attack and take over the country.
Previously, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan was quoted as saying the docking of the two naval ships from China at the Penang Port was routine and should not have been blown out of proportion.
Mohamad said the Chinese delegation had sought official approval from his ministry pertaining their visit to a private school in Penang.
— Bernama
