PORT KLANG, Feb 3 — Malaysia is not one of the countries on the US’ travel blacklist of seven Muslim-majority nations, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said today.
Najib was asked about his thoughts on the temporary travel ban by US president Donald Trump.
“It doesn’t involve Malaysia at all,” he told a news conference.
Last week, Trump signed an executive order to impose a temporary ban on the entry of visitors from seven countries and refugees to the US.
The 90-day ban for visitors involves Syria, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen, while a 120-day ban was imposed on all refugees from around the globe.
The executive order, titled “Protecting the Nation From Foreign Terrorist Entry Into The United States”, has since drawn flak by leaders around the world, including civil liberty groups.
Indonesia’s foreign ministry said that the move will reflect negatively on the global fight against terrorism and refugees’ management.
The ministry’s spokesman Arrmanatha Nasir reportedly said that it was wrong to link radicalism and terrorism with one particular religion.
British Prime Minister Theresa May, who was the first foreign leader to officially meet Trump, also said her government did not agree with the ban.
France’s Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault said it was the “duty of solidarity” to welcome refugees, adding that terrorism cannot based on nationality.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, meanwhile, said his government welcomed refugees fleeing persecution, terror and war, pointing out that diversity made Canada strong.
Earlier today, over 100 Malaysians, led by Opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM), held a demonstration outside the US embassy in Kuala Lumpur against the temporary ban.
