Mohamad Sabu, one of Amanah’s founding leaders and a former three-term MP, said Malaysia’s offer to contribute in efforts to mediate in the ongoing crisis between Qatar and neighbouring Arab states involved in a full-scale embargo on the tiny nation, was also questionable.
Yesterday, Prime Minister Najib Razak said Malaysia supported efforts to end the diplomatic tension in the region based on Islamic brotherhood.
But Najib also said that the security of Saudi Arabia was paramount, lauding the kingdom as a “beacon of stability”.
“For this reason, all parties must ensure that the security and stability of Saudi Arabia, as the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, is protected and preserved at all costs,” he said.
Mohamad, or Mat Sabu, said Malaysia could not qualify as a mediator in the current crisis, as it was now a Saudi proxy and had even supported Riyadh’s military operation in Yemen.
“One needs to be cautious when it comes to Saudi Arabia,” Mat Sabu told FMT.
He also questioned the recent announcement by Najib of Malaysia’s commitment to host the Saudi-inspired King Salman Centre for International Peace (KSCIP).
Najib said the new centre, born out of talks between Malaysian and Saudi officials, will have a permanent building on a 16ha site in Putrajaya.
Mat Sabu said it was strange that Malaysia was partnering with Saudi Arabia in efforts to counter terrorism and extremism, at a time when the kingdom had come under scrutiny over its own extremist ideology.
“Saudi Arabia’s influence on militant groups is currently the subject of debate in many European countries, and is a growing concern worldwide,” he added.
Details on the specific role of KSCIP are vague. It is also not clear why the centre needs such a vast space that roughly equals more than a dozen Olympic football fields.
Yesterday, FMT reported that an organisation involved in the plan has itself been accused of promoting extremist and militant ideologies, including links with groups such as al-Qaeda, Taliban and Islamic State (IS).
The Muslim World League (MWL), a body heavily financed by Riyadh to promote the Saudi regime’s Islamic image abroad, has a history of promoting Wahhabism, the controversial ultra-conservative strand of Islam adopted by Saudi clerics.
A report released early this month by UK-based think tank Henry Jackson Society accused MWL of promoting extremism, adding that the organisation “has had officials and member organisations linked to both al-Qaeda and the Taliban”.
Mat Sabu said academic endeavours should be encouraged, but added he was not convinced by KSCIP and its agenda due to the Saudi connection.
He questioned how such a centre could objectively play its role in promoting peace with Saudi Arabia’s involvement.
He said Malaysia’s neutrality was now shattered by its alliance with Saudi Arabia.
“Malaysia is being dragged into the Saudi bloc, which essentially is the American bloc since the Saudis are US proxies,” said Mat Sabu.
He said the situation was different under former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who had championed the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), a group of states which wished to remain independent from any major power bloc.
Saudi body involved in Putrajaya ‘peace centre’ linked to extremism