Malaysian Parliament, US House of Representatives to continue to enhance bilateral ties

KUALA LUMPUR: The Malaysian Parliament and the United States (US) House of Representatives have agreed to continue to communicate and engage in various issues in addition to strengthening their bilateral relations, said Dewan Rakyat Speaker Tan Sri Azhar Azizan Harun.

He said the maiden visit of US House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi, accompanied by her congressional delegation, to Malaysia, particularly to the Malaysian Parliament, was very historic as it could serve as a platform for discussion between the parliamentary institutions of the two countries.

According to Azhar, Pelosi's visit gave the Malaysian Parliament room to learn more about the role of special select committees.

"Their response was very good..it was somewhat beyond their expectations. She (Pelosi and the delegation) came here with an open heart to learn from our (Malaysian Parliament) experiences and we are also open to learning from their experiences.

"I really hope that the Malaysian Parliament can learn from the US experience in this matter (special select committees) because they have been using the initiative for a long time," he told a press conference at the Parliament Building, today.

Earlier, Pelosi and the US congressional delegation arrived at the Parliament building this afternoon and held a discussion for almost an hour with Azhar, who was also joined by several Malaysian Members of Parliament.

Azhar said the meeting, among others, discussed several issues including Malaysia's Tier Three ranking in the Trafficking in Persons Report 2022 based on the US Department of State annual report, as well as issues related to the palm oil industry, sustainability, flood disasters and global warming.

"On the Malaysia's position in the US Department of State annual report, I told them (the US delegation), our (Home) minister is briefing the Dewan Rakyat and I also emphasised that Malaysia should take stronger action to improve the situation.

"As for the palm oil issue, I told them that Malaysia has nothing to hide," he said.

Pelosi, together with the congressional delegation arrived in Malaysia today as part of the official visit to four Asian countries.

The special aircraft carrying Pelosi and her entourage touched down at the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) base in Subang near here at 10.33 am.

The Speaker of the US House of Representatives also held a meeting with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob in the federal capital later today.

-- BERNAMA