Government to take moderate stand on Uighur issue, says Saifuddin

By T.N.Alagesh December 29, 2019 @ 7:36pm

KUANTAN: The government has appointed the International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation (Istac) to conduct a detailed study on reports of alleged atrocities committed by the Chinese government against the Uighur Muslims in the Xinjiang province.

Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said Malaysia would adopt a step-by-step approach in screening all the reports received from various quarters concerning the Uighurs.

"During my meeting with the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, I informed him that we will adopt a moderate approach on the matter.

"Malaysia will neither blindly support any reports provided by the Chinese government nor openly critise China. We want to ensure the truth behind each and every report that we receive about the incidents there," he told reporters after handing early school assistance to 260 primary and secondary school students in the Indera Mahkota parliamentary constituency at SMK Tengku Panglima Perang, here, today.

Saifuddin, who is also Indera Mahkota MP, said among the reports received were that more than one million Uighurs were being held in detention and subjected to re-education camps which some report described as indoctrination.

"We need to verify this, including the Uighur separatist movements at the Xinjiang Province and whether there were elements of terrorism in the issue," he added.

Last week, hundreds gathered near the Chinese Embassy in Jalan Ampang in protest over purported normalisation and re-education of the Muslim minority in the province.