LOS ANGELES: Bilateral ties between Malaysia and the United States are at their best but that will not stop the country from speaking up on Palestinian rights and other issues of interest to Putrajaya, says Malaysia’s ambassador to Washington.
“We enjoy warm and cordial relations. It is a happy relationship,” Datuk Dr Awang Adek Hussin, envoy since 2014, told the Malaysian media as Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak arrived here for a six-day working visit to the US.
“But when we think they overstep in terms of being unfair to other smaller countries, we say so,” he said.
While here, Najib will attend the special US-Asean leaders’ summit to be hosted by President Barack Obama in Sunnylands near here on Monday and Tuesday.
Awang Adek stressed that although Putrajaya and Washington enjoyed close relations, the former had to say what it had to say, even to a friend.
“(For example) sometimes, the US finds our stance on Palestine and Middle Eastern issues very strong when we present our views at the United Nations Security Council as a non-permanent member.
“That is our principle. We have to say, even to a friend, what we believe and I think that they can accept that.
“This is important so that we can have an open dialogue.”
The decision to “elevate” the US-Malaysia relationship to a “Comprehensive Partnership”, announced during Obama’s April 2014 visit to Malaysia, indicated that the two countries were cooperating on a wider range of issues than in the past.
The Obama administration’s strategic “rebalancing” to the Asia-Pacific region has placed a high priority on deepening relations with Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries.
Najib has also spoken frequently on building stronger relations with the US as part of Malaysia’s principle of shared benefits.
Malaysia is also part of the Obama administration’s signature economic initiative in the region, with Malaysia being one of 12 Asia-Pacific nations to sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free-trade agreement earlier this month.
Obama was the first US president to visit Malaysia since 1966, and the visit served as a catalyst to promote bilateral cooperation in several areas.
Obama was also in Kuala Lumpur last November for the 27th Asean Summit and Related Summits.
Malaysia-US bilateral trade stood at US$30.2 billion between January and November last year, with Malaysia’s imports reaching US$17.2 billion and exports at US$13 billion, with trade surplus in Malaysia’s favour. For foreign direct investments, Malaysia approved 12 projects by US firms worth US$500 million between January and September last year, up nearly 30 per cent from the same period in 2014.
The US, with a total investment of US$28 billion, is the largest investor in Malaysia after Japan.
Over 600 US companies operate in Malaysia, many in the electronics and information technology industries.
By A. Jalil Hamid in Los Angeles