M’sian govt still accorded high respect

SYDNEY: The moves by certain parties who do not want Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and the Malaysian government to be accorded special honours at the 2018 Asean-Australia Special Summit here did not get the attention of the Australian government.

Najib was instead given a special reception, especially as one of the leaders of Asean who was invited to speak at the closing of the Conference on Terrorism Prevention which was part of the programme at the summit held at the Sydney International Conference Centre here Saturday.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull also spoke at the conference .

“Thank God, I was given the most special honour. To speak at the closing of the conference, I was the only one invited (to speak).

At the dinner, I was seated beside Prime Minister Turnbull.

“There were parties urging that I not be given a special reception but it appears (their requests) have been rejected and failed. The Australian government still accorded the highest honours to the Malaysian government,” the Prime Minister told Malaysian media here.

The two-day 2018 AseanAustralia Summit starting today is to discuss the future direction and cooperation between Asean and Australia.

Apart from that, the summit is also being held to commemorate the raising of Asean-Australia ties to strategic partnership level.

The summit involves three sessions namely the AseanAustralia Leaders’ Summit, Asean-Australia Business Summit and the AseanAustralia Terrorism Prevention Conference.

This is the first time Australia is hosting a joint summit for all Asean leaders. - Bernama