Imran Khan likes how Malaysia tackles corruption and the Pakistan Prime Minister wants his country’s authorities to learn from our MACC.
PUTRAJAYA: The governments of Pakistan and Malaysia have a lot in common.
Both are headed by a Prime Minister who swept to power after having ousted the incumbent, on the back of overwhelming support to wipe out corruption.
Both Prime Ministers inherited a country with large national debt and are popular personalities in and outside their countries.
Malaysia’s Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad created history when he became the world’s oldest Prime Minister at 93 while Imran Khan is the first professional cricketer to go on and lead the country where the game is hugely popular.
Battling corruption and managing huge national debts were the main points of discussion between Imran Khan and Dr Mahathir during the former’s official visit to the country.
Imran Khan, who admires Dr Mahathir, said both governments were in a similar situation.
“The people gave us the power and mandate based on our anti-corruption platform,” he said at a joint press conference with Dr Mahathir after a bilateral meeting yesterday.
Saying that Pakistan was now burdened with “unprecedented debt”, Imran Khan said there was a lot that his country and Malaysia could share in dealing with the crisis and how they could get out of it.
“We have followed Dr Mahathir’s progress, especially since he came to office. My party wants to learn from your experience and how you transformed the economy,” he said.
Imran Khan added that Pakistan was also seeking Malaysia’s expertise in tourism, adding that despite having an abundance of tourist spots, there were very few resorts and this was where Malaysian companies could come in.
Dr Mahathir noted the long relationship enjoyed by Malaysia and Pakistan, especially in trade.
“Malaysia has also agreed to raise Pakistan’s interest to become Asean’s dialogue partner,” he said.
At a luncheon held at Seri Perdana in honour of Imran Khan’s visit, Dr Mahathir acknowledged Pakistan’s confidence towards several Malaysian companies involved in various projects in the country.
In a statement, Wisma Putra said the two leaders also discussed issues affecting the Muslim world, particularly on the situation in Palestine and Rakhine State in Myanmar.
Imran Khan raised the issue of Kashmir on “its grave human rights situation”.
“Malaysia also took note of Pakistan’s massive counter-terrorism efforts to eliminate terrorism,” the statement added.
Earlier, Imran Khan, who is on a two-day official visit, was given a red carpet welcome at Dataran Perdana where he inspected the guard of honour mounted by 103 personnel and three officers from the 1st battalion of the Royal Malay Regiment.