“One step at a time” was Prime Minister Najib Razak’s reply when the question was posed to him by reporters who approached him at the Parliament building here today.
Najib, who was present at the opening of the first sitting of the Dewan Rakyat for 2017, also said that the decision to expel North Korea’s ambassador to Malaysia, Kang Chol, was made based on principles.
“We are a sovereign country. Anyone who comes here must respect our country.
“If he (Kang) has made any threat or unfounded allegations (against Malaysia), then he should apologise or retract his statement.
“But he didn’t. So based on our principles, we moved to declare him persona non grata (unwelcome person).”
Najib said this proved that Malaysia is very strict when it comes to the protection of the country’s “dignity and sovereignty”.
No one can insult the country or make a fool of it, he warned.
Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein on the other hand, said that ties between the two countries have definitely been affected by the events that unfolded since the murder of Kim Jong Nam, the half brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, at the klia2 on Feb 13.
“We see the North Korean ambassador’s statement as rude. Other foreign countries, I believe, if they are in the same position, they will make the same decision as we did,” he said.
Kang was ordered to leave Malaysia on Saturday, hours after he was summoned by Wisma Putra.
Foreign Minister Anifah Aman had said Kang was expelled after he ignored the summon to the foreign ministry to meet with Raja Nushirwan Zainal Abidin, the deputy secretary-general for bilateral affairs.
Anifah also said during a meeting between the ministry and the high level North Korean delegation led by Kim Song earlier last week, the Malaysian government had demanded a written apology from North Korea for the accusations its ambassador had levelled against Malaysia.
There had been no apology forthcoming.
The North Korean ambassador had accused Malaysia of colluding with outside powers to defame his country and that the Malaysian government had something to hide in its conduct of the investigation into the death of Jong Nam.
Pyongyang had protested the murder investigation even as Malaysian police named an embassy officer as one of the suspects.
But Anifah said recent events, including the release of North Korean Ri Jong Chol due to lack of evidence, was proof that the investigation was conducted in an impartial, fair and transparent manner.
Following the furore over the accusations by Pyongyang, Wisma Putra had also recalled Malaysia’s ambassador to North Korea.
North Korea and Malaysia established diplomatic ties in 1973, but it was not until the early part of the last decade that both countries had firmed the relationship with the opening of full-fledged diplomatic missions.