Review ties with China, former envoy tells Putrajaya
(TMI) – The disappearance of MH370 has revealed the true colours of the Chinese in its relations with Malaysia, said a former ambassador, calling on Putrajaya to review its ties with China.
According to Datuk Ahmad Mokhtar Selat, from an international relations point of view, no country would make demands on its counterpart as what China has done to Malaysia.
“Making demands is an ‘unfriendly’ thing to do. In the MH370 crisis, China has made many demands which have complicated things for Malaysia, ” he told The Malaysian Insider.
“On top of search and rescue efforts, Malaysia has to deal with emotional issues. This would not have arisen if Chinese leaders had taken an ‘undemanding’ stand,” he added.
Mokhtar, who is also a former Universiti Malaya lecturer in international relations and has written a book titled “Tebusan Tupac Amaru: pengalaman duta Malaysia di Peru”, said the Chinese leaders’ stand caused its people to go overboard.
“Demonstrations and words like ‘I want my son back’ will not help things. A calm heart and a more compassionate stand from Chinese leaders would have soothed the situation and enabled Malaysia to focus its strength on the crisis it is facing,” he said.
“It is now proven, that in these situations, China is not the friend Malaysia can count on. It has a bullying tendency. All this while, China has bullied the Philippines and Vietnam. So Malaysia has to be careful.”
Mokhtar noted that on flight MH370, there were other foreigners from Australia, the US, Indonesia and other countries but they have not behaved like China in being demanding and attempting to show their strength.
“So Malaysia had to review its relationship with China,” he said.
