Amanah deputy president Salahuddin Ayub says no Asean nation has opened its borders for a defence base of this kind, belonging to a foreign power.
PETALING JAYA: Amanah deputy president Salahuddin Ayub is concerned that Putrajaya is in danger of making Malaysia a new “satellite” of China in its haste to shore up relations with the economic and military superpower.
Salahuddin, who is also Pakatan Harapan vice-president, said reports that Malaysia will consider China’s proposal to set up a regional counter-intelligence centre in Johor equipped with radar surveillance and a missile system indicate that the country risks becoming subservient to Chinese interests.
“There are already many national assets that have been pawned away to China at present,” he said.
“We do not now want a situation where the country’s administration would have to abide by China’s directions in the future.
“Look at the experience of African nations that received gigantic investments and loans from China, and eventually had to comply with the demands that it made,” Salahuddin said in a statement today.
He said there was still time for Prime Minister Najib Razak to act appropriately in the matter for the interest of the people and the nation.
He said the government’s move to consider China’s latest proposal was worrying also because it would drag Malaysia into the “cauldron” of superpower conflict, as the United States and many other countries would be opposed to it.
Read the full story at Free Malaysia Today
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PacificSentinel: If this happens it might be the end of the Five Power Defence Arrangement (FPDA), I doubt Australia & Singapore will allow Malaysia (due to Chinese "regional counter-intelligence") to become a threat to their nations & still adhere to the FPDA.