KUALA LUMPUR: US Senator John McCain has left an "admirable impression" during his visit to Malaysia in 2012, Asean Business Advisory Council (Asean-BAC) co-chair Tan Sri Dr Munir Majid said today.
Recalling the visit hosted by Kuala Lumpur Business Club (KLBC), Munir said he was deeply saddened by the news of McCain’s passing.
The celebrated US war hero died on Saturday after a battle with brain cancer. He was 81.
“It’s a great loss to humanity as he was a great man who has defended many of the nation’s interests,” he said in a telephone interview from Singapore.
Having hosted him once with then KLBC president Datuk Seri Johan Raslan, Munir said his initial impression of McCain changed when he met the man in person.
”I was really honoured to have met him during the visit and indeed, what I had assumed about the six-term senator was wrong.
"Prior to his one-and-only visit to Malaysia, I always thought a Republican would be an outright American but only after meeting him face-to-face did I realise that he is a man of great honour,” he said.
He said McCain was a man who believed in principles, even if it meant going against fellow American leaders.
“He had ‘fought’ with former president Barack Obama and he is a strong critic of current US President Donald Trump.
"But, he did all that because of what he believed in and not political ideology alone. I believe he has always fought for humanity,” he said, expressing his heartfelt condolences to McCain's family in Phoenix, Arizona.
In 2012, McCain visited Malaysia for four days on KLBC’s invitation. During the visit, he met with then Raja Muda of Perak, Raja Nazrin Shah, who is the club’s Royal Patron, as well as distinguished alumni from the universities of Oxford and Harvard in the United States.
Meanwhile, Asean-BAC Malaysia Lead Member Datuk Rohana Mahmood said she was saddened by the death of McCain, whom she described as “a giant” of our time.
“I still remember meeting him for the first time during his visit to Malaysia in 2012. (He) blew me away.
“I will remember him for his sense of openness, objectivity, humour and most of all his integrity and bravery. He was a friend of Malaysia,” Rohana told the New Straits Times Press today.