Abdullah praises govt's efforts to bring home Malaysians from North Korea

Former Prime Minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi today praised the government's successful efforts in solving the diplomatic spat with North Korea, which ended with the safe return of Malaysian citizens there who were previously barred from leaving the republic.

He said the success of the government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in its diplomatic negotiations with Pyongyang to end the crisis nicely was indeed a vital development for both countries.

"The prime minister knows exactly what needs to be done. I can say that this is a very good and successful effort," he told reporters after opening the 25th Anniversary Carnival of the Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (IKIM) and the launch of IKIM books here today.

All the Malaysian citizens departed from Pyongyang at 7.45 pm yesterday and arrived safely at the KL International Airport (KLIA) at 5.03 am today.

The tension between Malaysia and North Korea arose in the wake of the murder of Kim Jong-nam, elder half-brother of North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, in Malaysia on Feb 13.

The diplomatic spat erupted after North Korean Ambassador to Malaysia Kang Chol made baseless allegations against Malaysia over the handling of the case, resulting in Malaysia declaring him persona non grata.

Meanwhile, Abdullah, who is also IKIM chairman, said the institute needed to intensify effort to create bigger success in providing greater understanding about Islam through it various programmes and activities.

"Right now, there are lots of work to be done. We will carry it out with the cooperation from our leaders and the relevant agencies so that it would create bigger success," he said.

IKIM director-general Prof Datuk Dr Azizan Baharuddin said IKIM would continue to strive to ensure sustainable civilisation through religious understanding and by inculcating noble values among the people.

"Everyone wants to return to religion, but sometimes they were manipulated because of their lack of understanding about Islam. This is among the issues that need to be addressed by IKIM," she added.

-- BERNAMA