‘We will go on with foreign policies as they are’

PUTRAJAYA: There will be no major shift in the nation’s foreign policy, says Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah.

“We’ll continue with our current policy of being friendly to all nations, with Asean as our priority.

“These include our neutrality on specific issues,” the new Foreign Minister told reporters after the swearingin ceremony at Istana Negara yesterday.

He also pledged to push for the ratification of six international human rights conventions, which Malaysia had yet to sign.

“As stated in our manifesto, we aspire to sign all the international human rights conventions. There are nine, but we have only ratified three,” he said.

The three are the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

We’ll continue with our current policy of being friendly to all nations, with Asean as our priority. Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah

Besides playing a more effective role in promoting human rights, Saifuddin said it was also his personal aim to see Malaysia be part of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goal 2030.

On calls to pressure India to scrap its price hike of tourist visas for Malaysians, he said his officers were looking into the matter.

Off to a good start: Saifuddin (second from right) greeting employees of the Foreign Ministry during a welcoming ceremony at Wisma Putra to mark his first day on the job. Looking on is ministry secretary-general Datuk Seri Ramlan Ibrahim (right). —...