NO INTERFERENCE, ERAP ASSURES MALAYSIA

Malacanang, Oct. 21, 1998 - President Joseph Estrada has reassured Malaysia that
he is not interfering in its internal affairs when he expressed his moral personal
support for former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Mr. Estrada reiterated in an interview with Singapore-based CNBC Asia that he was
espousing human rights and due process of law, values which he said he believes in.

"I believe that human rights and due process of law are universal concepts, and this
must be expected by all countries in the world," he said in a CNBC interview aired
Monday night.

The Chief Executive said, "I'm not interfering with their internal affairs, I'm just
voicing my own opinion as a friend of Anwar."

In a meeting in the Indonesian island of Batam last week, Mr. Estrada and
Indonesian President B.J. Habibie agreed to ask the Malaysian government to
possibly transfer the ex-deputy prime minister from prison to house arrest while
undergoing trial.

Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir was reported as having assured Mr. Estrada that
the government has been treating Anwar well, and said the Philippine president may
visit Anwar if he wants to.

In response, Mr. Estrada told reporters Monday that Mahathir's invitation to visit
Anwar was "good news" and a "good sign." He said he may find time to visit Anwar
when he goes to Kuala Lumpur next month to attend this year's Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation (APEC) leaders' summit.

Reported by: Sol Jose Vanzi

Copyright, 1998 by PHILIPPINE HEADLINE NEWS ONLINE

All rights reserved

Retrieved from: http://www.newsflash.org/199810/hl/hl001008.htm

 This news article, published in October 21, 1998, is about former president Joseph
Estrada and his ties with former Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Basically,
whats happening here is that Anwar Ibrahim, who is apparently a friend of Estrada, was on
trial for four out of five charges of corruption. Estrada said he didnt want to interfere with
Malaysias internal affairs but rather just wanted to voice out his opinion that he supports
Anwar Ibrahim through the whole thing since theyre friends. Estrada also met with Anwar
Ibrahims daughter to express his support for her jailed father. This led to correspondents
thinking that meetings like this are likely to further strain ties between Malaysia and its
ASEAN neighbors, who traditionally refrain from comment on each others internal affairs.
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/194179.stm)

With this news article, the thing that I wanted to talk about here that may have
something to do with Philippine History is the foreign relations between Malaysia and the
Philippines. Malaysia and Philippines are both founding members of the ASEAN. In 1959,
shortly after Federation of Malaya, the predecessor state of Malaysia, became independent,
the Philippines established a legation in Kuala Lumpur. They were also a part of MaPhilIndo
(together with Indonesia) which was a short-lived nonpolitical union formed during a
summit in Manila from 31 July to 5 August 1963.

Up to the present, Malaysia has continued aiding the Philippines during calamities.
During the 2013 Bohol earthquake, the Malaysian Government has donated a total of MYR
100,000 for children affected by the disaster. While after the Typhoon Haiyan hit Philippines,
the Malaysian Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein has quickly contacted the Philippine
Defense Secretary Voltaire Gazmin to determine the aid required. Malaysia also become the
main facilitator for the Framework Agreement on the Bangsamoro to create peace and
establish the Bangsamoro area in Southern Philippines, but the peace process was put on
hold in 2015 after the killing of 44 Special Action Force Filipino soldiers by Islamic insurgents
that were formerly funded by Malaysia.

Sources: http://www.bangkokpost.com/print/391473/

http://archive.is/cmfFK