Zahid to speak on 'De-rooting radicalism and extremism' at Oxford University

LONDON: Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is to deliver a keynote address entitled "De-Rooting Radicalism and Extremism" to scholars and invited guests at the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (OCIS), Oxford University, United Kingdom (UK) on Wednesday.

Malaysian High Commissioner to the UK, Datuk Ahmad Rasidi Hazizi said the keynote address in Oxford would be the main focus of Ahmad Zahid's five-day working visit to the country begining Monday.

"The visit this time, which is the second by Ahmad Zahid as Deputy Prime Minister, is more significant because he has been invited to speak at the centre just as other world leaders including from Malaysia have done before to share views on certain topics," he told Malaysian journalists here Saturday.

Ahmad Zahid will also be creating history as the first leader to speak at the newly-built auditorium there, which received a RM12 million contribution from Malaysia for its construction, especially for the wood carvings for its interior decoration, he said.

In addition to that, he said Malaysia also contributed £10 million towards the completion of the OCIS building.
During the visit, Ahmad Zahid is also scheduled to meet newly appointed UK Home Secretary, Amber Rudd, on Tuesday to discuss current issues like extremism and others related to home affairs, including immigration and student visa.

"The Deputy Prime Minister will also undertake several meetings with UK companies namely Digital Barriers and Thales UK to discuss possible opportunities.

"With Thales UK, the discussion will revolve around Malaysia's support for UK in terms of maritime and border support," he said.

Digital Barriers is a world leader in visually intelligent solutions for global surveillance, security and safety markets, specialising in zero-latency streaming and secure video and related intelligence over wireless networks, including cellular, satellite, IP mesh and cloud.

Ahmad Rasidi said the Deputy Prime Minister would also be attending a dinner with captains of industry in UK on Monday and a roundtable discussion at Chatham House with the All Party Parliamentary Group for Malaysia (APPG) on Tuesday.
Ahmad Zahid is also scheduled to make a factory visit and have a meeting with UK Space Agency/Airbus in Stevenage on Wednesday.

During this visit, the Deputy Prime Minister will also attend a dinner with the Malaysian diaspora here on Tuesday, which is expected to be attended by some 400 Malaysians.

It is estimated that 73,000 Malaysians are living and working in the UK while 17,631 Malaysian students at various levels of studies are enrolled with UK higher education institutions for the academic year 2015-2016. — Bernama