PUTRAJAYA: Malaysia does not intend to reopen the King Salman Centre for International Peace (KSCIP) anytime soon as it is, instead, focused on efforts to tackle and control the spread of Covid-19.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein (pix) said any discussions on KSCIP would be raised at the highest level, that is with Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
“That is a security issue, so I hope if our relationship with Saudi Arabia is back on the right track it will be discussed at a higher level, which is at the Prime Minister’s level.
“I believe that whatever the decision is, it must benefit national interest, but our priority right now is not so much (on) terrorists, but (a) virus which we cannot see,” he told a press conference today.
The formation of KSCIP, an anti-terrorism institution, was proposed after the visit by Saudi monarch Salman Abdul Aziz to Malaysia in 2017 but it was scrapped in 2018 by the Pakatan Harapan government.
Meanwhile, Hishammuddin said that the telephone conversation with his United Arab Emirates (UAE) counterpart Sheikh Abdullah Zayed Al Nahyan was mostly regarding bilateral efforts by both countries to tackle the spread of Covid-19.
“UAE is at the forefront in trying to combat this virus and they are more than willing to work with us,” he said.
In a related development, Hishammuddin said Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal Farhan Al Saud is expected to visit Malaysia next Thursday “to meet me”. — Bernama
