Erdogan personally called me to attend Jerusalem meeting: Najib

KUALA LUMPUR: Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak today recalled how Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had phoned him up personally to ask that he attend an emergency meeting over the status of Jerusalem.
The Prime Minister, in his policy speech at the Umno general assembly, said this proved that Malaysia has a huge influence and plays an important role in the Islamic world.
Najib, who is also Umno president, said he even had to cancel his annual meeting with Singapore Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, slated on the same date, in order to carry Malaysia's voice to the meeting.
"Three days ago, Erdogan called me and asked me to attend the emergency Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) meeting on Dec 13.
"He had said that this is because Malaysia's voice is important. Coincidently, I have an annual consultation with Lee.
"I called Lee and told him to understand that this is an issue that affects my faith as a Muslim and the faith of all Muslims. I cannot accept the fate of Islam being oppressed in any way," he said.
United States President Donald Trump, on Wednesday, declared the disputed city of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, angering Palestine, the Arab world and the majority of European nations.
Najib pledged that he would fight to the end to resolve the issue and that he would never come to accept the decision made by the US.
Later in a press conference, Najib said while he stood by his principle to condemn the US, it would not affect the diplomatic ties between the two nations.
"Our principle is we will never accept this decision because it is against the sovereignty that has been established in a resolution by the United Nations security council.
"But we can still work together in other aspects. Our cooperation with the US is multi-dimensional," he said.