Malaysian minister to make fence-mending trip to China
Malaysian minister to make fence-mending trip to China
Agence France-Presse Kuala Lumpur
Malaysia's home minister said on Sunday he was about to depart on a trip to China aimed at repairing relations after outrage over the alleged humiliation of a Chinese woman by police here.
Home Minister Azmi Khalid, who was asked by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to make the urgent trip, said he was due to arrive in China on early Monday and would meet with Chinese officials later in the day.
"We welcome Chinese tourists, and anybody from China who wants to do business or anything else with Malaysia are welcome here," Azmi told AFP of the message he would take to Beijing.
The move follows the release last month of a video clip in which a woman believed to be Chinese national is forced to strip and perform squats in front of a Malaysian policewoman.
Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Dawei last Wednesday summoned the Malaysian ambassador in Beijing to protest over the treatment of Chinese citizens, and Beijing has called on Malaysia to ensure their safety.
Azmi said he would meet with Chinese government officials and the media to explain that Malaysia was not profiling Chinese nationals or singling them out for harassment.
"It is not true that we profile Chinese women as being engaged in immoral activities," he said. "Enforcement will always be there because we have a lot of illegals, but unfortunately it is overhighlighted in the media."
Tourism Malaysia's figures show Chinese arrivals to Malaysia have plunged by 44 percent this year, averaging 25,487 a month from January to September, compared to 45,853 a month in 2004.
The government has attributed the fall to increased competition from other tourist destinations but also blamed negative publicity over the treatment of Chinese nationals.
"It gives the wrong signal to people who are coming to this country," said Azmi of the media reports.
Malaysians have expressed shock and outrage over the treatment of the woman, and the government has launched an independent inquiry into the incident.
The developments have sparked calls for police procedures to be reviewed, and newspapers debates on Malaysia's treatment of foreigners.
"We must bear in mind that Chinese tourists are no longer just peasants with some extra money to spare but affluent consumers who can afford to buy Gucci, Prada and Salvatore Ferragamo. Think please," wrote Star daily columnist Wong Chun Wai on Sunday in a plea for more sensitivity towards foreigners.