KL tells U.S. not to interfere

KL tells U.S. not to interfere

KUALA LUMPUR (AFP): Malaysia told the United States on Friday that it had no right to interfere in the government's handling of weekend protests by supporters of ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.

U.S. State Department spokesman James Rubin said on Thursday that Washington was "deeply disturbed" by Malaysia's move to prevent its citizens from exercising their rights to free speech and peaceful assembly.

Washington urged Malaysia to "respect the fundamental civil and political rights of all its citizens and to refrain from further actions that violate those rights", Rubin said.

But Malaysian Minister of Foreign Affairs Syed Hamid Albar said Washington had no right to "dictate to another nation to thrive in chaos and be denied of prosperity in the name of liberal democracy".