HANOI: THE immediate deployment of assets by 25 countries in the search for the missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 was due to the goodwill and strong relationships that Malaysia had with them, said Datuk Seri Najib Razak.
The prime minister said this was despite that under international convention laws it was Malaysia’s responsibility to search for the jetliner which lost contact after entering Vietnamese airspace in the wee hours on March 8.
“The countries were also willing to commit themselves without asking us to pay for their services and this is because our caring policy of helping other countries when they need help,” Najib said in his speech at a dinner with the Malaysian community here on Friday.
Also present were his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed Agriculture, Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and Malaysian Ambassador toVietnam Datuk Azmil Zabidi.
Najib said Malaysia had been seen as a very caring country by other nations as it had been involved in so many humanitarian aid missions.
Citing examples of Malaysia’s caring policy in helping other countries, Najib said Malaysia was quick to offer assistance to the Philippines when the country was hit by the Haiyan typhoon and Indonesia when Acheh was struck by Tsunami.
“Whenever a country was hit by an earthquake or other tragedies, we were there to help. Now, it is our turn.
“When I called the leaders of the countries to ask for help, some of them said, “look, just tell us what we can do for you? Because Malaysia has been good to us in the past, because when we were in need, Malaysia helped us, because we like you, we like Malaysia.”
Najib, who was on a three-day official visit to Vietnam, arrived on Thursday from Perth, Australia where he had a firsthand look at search efforts for the jetliner.
He said his visit to Perth was also to personally express his gratitude and appreciation to Australian Prime Minister Tony Abbot and all personnel involved in the search operations.
“I could have issued a statement to thank them from Kuala Lumpur but, I decided to go to Perth because I wanted to look into their eyes, shake their hands and say thank you for helping us.”
Najib said this was an example of what Malaysian entrepreneurs should do in foreign countries.
“You need to build goodwill and strong relationships with the people and government of the country they are operating in.
“We must understand that this will make us successful in doing business because when you build relationships, then you will understand how to make the system work for you and you can overcome obstacles.”
-NST
