KUALA LUMPUR: A group of about 50 protested outside the North Korean Embassy on Jalan Batai, urging Malaysia to reconsider its diplomatic ties with the country.
Deputy Umno Youth chief Khairul Azwan Harun said Malaysia should also withdraw from the visa-free agreement with the hermit kingdom.
Pointing to the numerous statements released by the embassy over the death of Kim Jong-nam, he said that these were clearly a violation of Malaysia’s sovereignty and legal process.
“Due to this, we urge the Government to withdraw from the visa-free agreement with North Korea.
“We also urge the Government to reconsider diplomatic ties,” he told reporters after handing over a memorandum to a representative from the embassy yesterday.
Also present were MCA Youth secretary-general Datuk Leong Kim Soon and MIC Youth chief C. Sivarraajh.
Khairul Azwan said it was also evident from the statements that the embassy had blatantly and undiplomatically defamed Malaysia by claiming that it was “susceptible to foreign interventions and open to manipulation over a hidden agenda”.
“We gather here today to condemn and hand in a memorandum of protest,” he said, vowing to organise a bigger demonstration should the embassy continue to disrespect Malaysia’s rule of law.
The 90-minute protest saw a large presence of policemen, as well as foreign and local reporters, in the surrounding area despite heavy rain.
Earlier in the morning, an embassy staff member told reporters standing outside the gate to leave and threatened to call the police.
The reporters had been waiting for a scheduled press conference by the embassy from as early as 9am but it was later cancelled.
At about 3pm, the area in front of the embassy was cordoned off by police after some media personnel disrupted traffic.
The newsmen were also asked to wait on the opposite side of the road from the front gate of the embassy.
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