NEW YORK, Sept 26 — Malaysia will continue to foster good relations with China despite the superpower’s claim to the South China Sea, the prime minister said.
“They claim the whole of South China Sea belongs to them. So long as they allow ships to pass through, that’s okay.
“We (Malaysia) can also claim that Australia belongs to us but Australia won’t care simply because it’s not going to happen.
“The fact remains that the South China Sea and the Straits of Melaka are necessary for East-West trade.
“If you close, China itself will suffer,” said Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad during the World Leaders Forum at Columbia University here.
He was responding to a question about how China’s role was shaping Asean.
To a question on his anti-Semitic views, Dr Mahathir said he was only exercising his right to free speech.
“Why is it that I can’t say something against the Jews when a lot of people say nasty things about me, about Malaysia? I didn’t protest, I didn’t demonstrate.
“Well, we have to be willing to listen to views which are not in our favour because of free speech.
“Free speech is about free speech. When you say ‘no, you cannot say this, you cannot be anti-Semitic,’ then there is no more free speech.
“You must remember that one English journalist was jailed for three months for disputing the numbers who died during the Holocaust.
“Well, I have not disputed them but I have asked who determined these numbers.
“If it is somebody who is in favour, you get one figure and somebody against, we get another figure,” he added.
The prime minister said he accepted there was a holocaust and that many Jews killed.
“In fact, at one time I was very sympathetic towards them during the war, when you were not around but I was around at that time,” he said to the student.
