ALTHOUGH China is regarded as a friend, it is not Malaysia’s place to promote its ideas and ideologies, said Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad today.

“Malaysia has always regarded China as a friend, except for some periods in the early days of our Independence when China was practising communism that could be exported to Malaysia.

“We don’t want that,” he said at the Malaysia Beyond 2020 conference.

He said while he believes that China will exert a great influence on the world, Malaysia will not get carried away by it.

Adding that racial feelings are still dominant in Malaysia, Dr Mahathir said he did not want people to think that the country has fallen under the influence of China.

“At the moment, it is not for us to promote Chinese ideas and ideologies but to find out how we can benefit from that.

“As much as we do not like Western influence in our strategies and schools. We do not other countries to have undue influence over our young people.”

He was responding to a question from the audience on the Belt and Road Initiative and the recent comic book controversy related to the project.

The comic book titled Belt and Road Initiative for Win Winism that went viral allegedly depicted Dr Mahathir with notes, stating that it was a gift from him to China President Xi Jinping during their meeting on the sidelines of the April Belt and Road Summit and Forum in Beijing.

The Prime Minister’s Office yesterday denied that Dr Mahathir was involved in the publication nor was he aware of the content.

While Malaysia is supportive of the Belt and Road initiative, it is important to have a full understanding of its dynamics, said Dr Mahathir.

He added that young Malaysians must understand the policies and dynamics of the country. – October 21, 2019.