LONDON, Oct 1 — Malaysian Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Malaysia will hold trade talks with the United Kingdom separately post-Brexit.

He said Malaysia intended to continue the relations whether the UK was in the European Union (EU) or not.

"When the UK leaves the EU, we will talk with the UK alone. To us, what is important is trade with these countries,” he said after delivering a talk on "The Future of Democracy in Asia” at Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, on Monday. The UK is scheduled to withdraw from the EU on March 29 next year.

In his talk, Dr Mahathir said democracy is not one size fits all because each country has its own culture and some cultures are so strong that it is difficult for them to change.

He said democracy is not perfect in a society where there are differences in cultures.

"The mindset necessary in a democracy is that people must be able to accept the role of the winner. Some will fail because there are quarrels all the time with people who are sniping at the government,” he said. — Bernama