Malaysia rejects UK's stance on human rights

Malaysia rejects UK's stance on human rights

KUALA LUMPUR (Reuter): Malaysia gently but firmly rebuffed British Foreign Secretary Robin Cook yesterday, saying he was wrong to insist that all countries should respect the same fundamental set of human rights.

Cook is in Southeast Asia for a four-nation tour to boost bilateral ties and to stress the new British government's determination that its partners respect human rights.

But Malaysian Foreign Minister Abdullah Badawi said that while human rights were of great concern to Kuala Lumpur, each country had a unique domestic agenda so should be allowed to deal with its own problems.

"Other countries too have their own problems. I think in human rights, it is very difficult to have one common yardstick that is universally applicable," he said after holding talks with Cook.

Abdullah, speaking once Cook had left, said the talks had been "interesting" but stressed that Malaysia and other countries in the region had to balance the need for human rights with the kind of political stability which would allow economic growth.

"We can disagree without being disagreeable," he said with a smile.

His comments were a blow for Cook just hours before the British minister was due to make a major speech underlining the need to respect the 1948 Universal Declaration on Human Rights.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammed is reportedly keen to redraft the document, drawn up by the United Nations, on the grounds that it is out of date and should focus more on economic freedoms.

"Without political stability nothing can be achieved. If we're concerned about stability and we allow freedom without restraint by civil rights groups, that's the kind of freedom that can also upset a lot of things in a particular country and can cause instability," Abdullah said.

"I think with freedom there must also be responsibility and we have to be aware of that."

British officials say there are differing degrees of human rights problems in each of the four nations Cook plans to visit -- Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore.

Cook himself has made clear on several occasions that all member states of the United Nations are obliged to stick to the declaration on human rights.

But Abdullah said it was crucial to realize that different countries had different cultural values.

"It's important to know that if you're dealing in a Malaysian situation, (it) has no equivalent anywhere else. We have to deal with it in our own way, but this doesn't mean we don't regard freedom for the individual," he said.

Differences also appeared to emerge over what approach to take over Myanmar, the world's largest opium producer and widely regarded as a renegade state.

Cook said pressure should be brought on the military government to restore human rights and end what he said was its open connivance with local drugs barons.

But Abdullah said such methods had only enjoyed limited success and that Myanmar's recent admission into ASEAN might bear more fruit.

"We are concerned and therefore we have a constructive policy. Members of ASEAN have more opportunities to engage (Myanmar). I would like to think that with the new arrangement we'll achieve more success than we did before," he said.