|
The interests and views of the United Nations and the Islamic countries will not be considered if the United States and its allies take charge of the reconstruction of post-war Iraq, Malaysian Information Minister Khalil Yaakob said in Kuala Lumpur Tuesday.
As such, Malaysia felt that it was more appropriate for the United Nations to manage the reconstruction, he said.
"Malaysia's view is supported by many other countries. The Malaysian foreign minister and Indonesian foreign minister are unanimous on this," he was quoted by the national news agency Bernama as saying.
Asked whether Malaysia will recognize an Iraqi government installed by the United States, Khalil said this is a foreign policy matter.
"I believe that the government will ask our foreign minister to discuss the matter with the other countries because we have a responsibility as chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM)," he said.
On the Malaysian joint media team covering the US-led invasion of Iraq, Khalil said that so far, the ministry was satisfied with the performance of the team which had been able to do its work well.
The team was acting as an observer for Malaysia by reporting everything that happened in Iraq, he said.
"The observation is done daily and they have reported the developments there to us as well as made comments. If not, we have to depend on outside channels which may be biased," he added.
(Xinhua News Agency April 8, 2003)
|
