KUALA LUMPUR: The government has urged local manufacturing companies to take heed of the final destination of goods exported to foreign countries to avoid being affected by the sanctions imposed by the United States (US) on Russia.
Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan stressed that although Malaysia does not adopt the unilateral sanctions imposed by the US on Russia, which were not decided by the United Nations, the country does not want to bear any consequences if there is non-compliance.
“America may sometimes act ‘unpredictably’. It may apply an even worse ‘secondary sanction’ on Malaysia.
“We do not want stringent actions from the US by imposing ‘secondary sanctions’ on our country, as we might be in a tough situation by then,” he said.
He was replying to a supplementary question from Suhaizan Kaiat (PN-Pulai) in the Dewan Rakyat regarding the impact of Malaysia’s participation in BRICS.
Mohamad also explained that he had received a notice from the US to impose sanctions on several companies in the country and stressed that three of the six companies listed in the notice were not manufacturing companies but rather trading companies.
The three companies could still be charged under the Customs Act 1967 for making false declarations regarding their goods and country of origin, he said.
Meanwhile, Mohamad highlighted that Malaysia’s participation, which has been accepted as a BRICS partner country, will not change the country’s role in any intergovernmental coalition at the global level.
“It will further expand our role, especially in the economic field. I have already sent a letter of response to my counterpart from Russia as the BRICS chairman this year, and we are very happy with the decisions made during the recent BRICS summit in Kazan,” he added.
