Foreign Affairs Minister Saifuddin Abdullah says this reflects ties of both countries have resumed and China gives priority to Malaysia. 

He said ties between Malaysia and China have resumed close ties.

Saifuddin said ties between Malaysia and China were affected last year. This is because after Pakatan Harapan took over the government, some of the mega infrastructure projects involving China approved by previous government went under review. 

He said after Dr Mahathir explained to China last year, China understood the situation of Malaysia and agreed to re-negotiate. Both countries have since achieved agreement.

“This year, before we attend One Belt One Road summit, we have managed to resolve East Coast Rail Link and Bandar Malaysia issues. This has brought positive sentiment to ties and trade between China and Malaysia,” he said.

Saifuddin said the government is having more communication with people on the ground and explain the true meaning of Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court in order to sign the statue in future. 

He said Malaysia is currently facing hurdle in signing the statue at moment. There is still possibility to sign it in future.

Saifuddin is frank that the Pakatan Harapan government has tried to sign both International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) and Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court but are forced to abort due to opposition. 

“We are sure that we will not sign ICERD but let’s wait and see for Roman Statue of the International Criminal Court. I will unveil all lies against the statue.”

Saifuddin said one of the reasons that Malaysia is unable to sign Roman Status is due to lack of public publicity and this has led to manipulations by someone with vested interests. They have twisted facts and did not explain the true meaning to the people, causing fear and confusion. 

He said as the matter has caused public fear, the government was forced to abort signing of the statue.

“We are learning from this episode to be more cautious in future. We will be unveiling lies and two TV stations have since done that, including making rebuttal against accusations,’’ he said.