KUALA LUMPUR, 29 September 2003 — Iraq’s US-appointed government might be allowed to attend a summit of Islamic nations in Malaysia next month following pressure by Middle East countries, a newspaper reported yesterday.
The Malaysian government has been reluctant to allow Iraq’s governing council to take part in the Oct. 16-18 annual meeting of the 57-member Organization of the Islamic Conference, because Iraq remains under US-led occupation.
However, Arab countries have been pushing for the Iraqi council to be brought into the mainstream, which would include its participation in major events such as the OIC meeting in Malaysia, said Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar.
“Iraq has requested that it wants to come,” Syed Hamid was quoted as saying by the New Sunday Times newspaper. “We just have to be informed who will represent the country.”
Scores of prominent Muslim leaders, such as Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf and Indonesian President Megawati Sukarnoputri, are scheduled to attend the three-day summit in Putrajaya, Malaysia’s administrative capital.
Malaysia, a predominantly Muslim country of 25 million people, was one of Asia’s strongest opponents of the war in Iraq which toppled Saddam Hussein’s regime.
The New Sunday Times also quoted Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad, 77, as saying that his decision to step down on Oct. 31 after 22 years in power was final.
“I may be healthy but I have been prime minister for too long. It’s time I move on and pass the job to someone else,” he was quoted as saying. by the New Sunday Times.
