IS a serious threat, says PM
Najib warns summit of ‘worst kind of brutality’ by terror group
MALAYSIA drove home the point at a summit attended by American and Asean leaders of the serious terror threat posed by Islamic State (IS), saying it could yet commit “the worst kind of brutality”.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak cited terror acts carried out in several cities around the world, with the latest being in San Bernardino, not far from the venue of the US-Asean summit.
“The terror acts in Paris, Istanbul, Ankara, Jakarta and St Bernardino could result in the worst kind of brutality committed by a group of people who do not follow the true teachings of Islam.
“In fact, the ideology introduced by IS is against the very principles of Islam,” Najib told Malaysian journalists at the end of the two-day US-Asean summit here yesterday.
The PM said he decided to speak on the IS threat in the last session of the summit when leaders were discussing peace and security in the Asia-Pacific region.
“In my intervention, I stressed Malaysia’s stand on IS extremism. I told the leaders that our efforts to counter terror threats will only succeed if we can win the ideological war,” he added.
Najib also said he would announce next month the inaugural syariah index which would serve as a benchmark to determine if Malaysia was fulfilling the objectives of Islamic principles.
The Malaysian Syariah Index, launched last year, will gauge objectively and scientifically Malaysia’s commitment in achieving the five aspects of the Maqasid Syariah (objective of Islamic principles).
These are the protection of religion, life, the mind, race and property.
Najib also said US President Barack Obama, in his remarks, thanked Malaysia for playing its role as country coordinator for Asean-US relations.
“He expressed appreciation that Malaysia’s leadership resulted in the successful organisation of the US-Asean summit here,” he added.
President Barack Obama has called for “tangible steps” to reduce tensions in the South China Sea, after a two-day summit with South-East Asian leaders concerned at Beijing’s military build-up.
“We discussed the need for tangible steps in the South China Sea to lower tensions,” Obama said after the meeting yesterday, calling for “a halt to further reclamation, new construction and militarisation of disputed areas”.
China’s actions in the vital waterway featured heavily in talks at Sunnylands, a sprawling California desert retreat.
In a joint statement, Obama and the 10 Asean leaders demanded the “peaceful resolution” of a myriad of competing territorial claims over islands, atolls and reefs.
Obama has tried to muster an informal coalition of Pacific allies to demand that Beijing respect the rule of law, hoping that China will want to avoid being painted as a regional bully.
The next showdown could come when the UN’s Permanent Court of Arbitration decides in April or May whether China’s claim to a vast expanse of sea inside a “nine-dash line” has legal merit.
Leaders discussed a collective US-Asean endorsement of the court’s verdict – whatever the outcome – which would heap pressure on China, which refuses to recognise the court.
“Freedom of navigation must be upheld, and lawful commerce should not be impeded,” Obama said.
“The United States will continue to fly, sail and operate wherever international law allows, and we will support the right of all countries to do the same.”
The White House had lauded the summit, and the prestigious venue, as an opportunity to champion Obama’s “pivot to Asia” and Asean’s growing importance, before the president leaves the White House in January 2017.
“As president, I’ve insisted that even as the United States confronts urgent threats around the world, our foreign policy also has to seize on new opportunities. And few regions present more opportunity in the 21st century than the AsiaPacific,” Obama said.
“That’s why, early in my presidency, I decided that the United States, as a Pacific nation, would rebalance our foreign policy and play a larger and long-term role in the Asia-Pacific.”
Obama announced a package of measures designed to boost SouthEast Asian economies, betting that the fast-growing region can be an ever more important trade partner.
The plan will establish three economic offices – in Jakarta, Bangkok and Singapore – to boost the US government’s “economic engagement with Asean institutions”, officials said.
In another reminder of the difficulties in bolstering the rule of law in South-East Asia, Obama called for a return to civilian rule in Thailand, where the military seized power in 2014.
At home, Obama’s latest effort to champion his pivot was overshadowed by the death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia.
But the White House hoped to send a message to the region that Washington will remain engaged.
“I’m confident that whoever the next president may be will build on the foundation that we’ve laid, because there’s strong, sustained bipartisan support for American engagement in the Asia-Pacific region,” Obama said.
Presidential trips to Vietnam and Laos are expected later this year to reinforce the point. — AFP