Facing embezzlement charges and then losing his political clout in the 2018 Malaysian general election, former prime minister Najib Razak is now trying to re-invent his political career ahead of the next elections in 2023. His pro-Malay party – UMNO – is slowly making a comeback after a massive victory in state elections in March.
Razak said in an interview to News18 that Malaysia should rework its foreign policy, where new centers of power such as India “should be considered very seriously”.
Asked how he plans to make a comeback ahead of the general election next year, Razak said he “expected” to announce a false trial on corruption charges against him and “it certainly will.” will play in the political arena”.
Edited excerpt:
Question: Over the years, India-Malaysia relations have become a bit uncomfortable, especially with some of the remarks made by Malaysia, which India has clearly described as its internal matter. Do you think this relationship can be improved by the United Malaysian National Organization (UMNO) and how do you see it happening?
a: Well! As you know, this issue is very close to my heart. I have always considered India my dearest and closest friend for a long time and I see India as one of my strategic allies. A new power centre, a growing power center and of course a major strategic partner of Malaysia. Unfortunately, relations deteriorated during the then Prime Minister, who broke that relationship and instead it turned very frosty. I am confident that we can re-establish this relationship again in the years or months to come. I believe that under UMNO’s leadership, we can certainly get the relationship back on track where it should be and make that relationship one of the key strategic partnerships for Malaysia and India.
Question:Are there any ideas or strategies being made to improve relations with India? Can you mention any areas where our relationship is likely to pick up?
a: Well! We believe that relationships should be multidimensional. Obviously, trade and economic ties are very important and Malaysia is in a position to export more palm oil to India and at the same time we should make this relationship broad-based, well diversified. We all should sum up the strength of India, for example in the field of IT, we should take advantage of it. Also encouraging foreign direct investment from India to Malaysia and tourism and tourism flows from India to Malaysia and vice versa. So, I think, there is a lot of potential between our two countries that we should work on and I am positive that this relationship will grow and get stronger in the times to come.
Question: Despite the general elections being almost a year away, corruption proceedings are going on against you in the Supreme Court. Do you think you will be able to make a political comeback despite these serious allegations?
a: Well, I believe so, there are many examples that would allow me to contest elections.
Question: But in this backdrop, a political revival is going to be difficult for you. How are you expecting change?
a: I believe the allegations are politically motivated and the recent disclosure by my team of lawyers is very clear and clear. We had access to them only recently. So we could not present this evidence. But it is very clear as presented by my counsel, the judges of the High Court themselves were in dispute and that is the essence of fair trial and justice, which should not only be done but seen. So, I hope a mistrial can be announced and it will definitely play out in the political arena and whatever positive happens in the legal field will definitely help me politically.
Question: Malaysia, about three years ago, was hoping to form a Muslim world grouping, while some expressed concern, especially from West Asia, that it could lead to divisions among Muslim countries. What is your view on Malaysia’s current position in the global world order?
a: I believe that as the world is changing, Malaysia should reset or rework its foreign policy, and we need to realign our foreign policy, that means New centers of power, for example India, should be considered very seriously and we should not do anything that hurts or weakens the unity of the Muslim world. And I believe it should be central to our foreign policy position.
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