Mujahid Yusof Rawa told FMT that he met with a Saudi official involved in the King Salman Centre for International Peace (KSCIP).

“He told me that Saudi Arabia has no issue with the decision to close KSCIP. Their policy is not to interfere in the domestic policies of other countries,” the minister in the Prime Minister’s Department said.

KSCIP was first proposed following the visit by Saudi monarch Salman Abdul Aziz to Malaysia last year. The Barisan Nasional government had then agreed to allocate a massive plot of land in the administrative capital of Putrajaya.

Early this month, Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu announced the centre’s closure, with its role to be absorbed into the Malaysian Institute of Defence and Security, which comes under the Ministry of Defence.

Critics have questioned the partnership with Saudi Arabia to fight terrorism, highlighting Riyadh’s military and ideological role worldwide.

Mujahid said relations between Malaysia and Saudi Arabia were excellent, and this was reflected in the treatment accorded to Malaysian officials and pilgrims during the recent haj season.

He said Riyadh also respected Malaysia’s decision to withdraw its military officers stationed in Saudi Arabia as part of a Saudi-led coalition in its military campaign in Yemen.

“The new government has made it clear that we will not meddle in conflicts between other countries,” he added.