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By Koi Kye Lee
New Straits Times
Thursday, Nov 10, 2011
SEPANG: Malaysia was given an "extraordinary honour" by the Saudi Arabian government when Datuk Seri Najib Razak was there to perform his haj. The prime minister said never in its history was Malaysia given such a recognition.
This was given further credence when the Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Jamil Khir Baharom had the honour of giving a speech at Mina Palace.
The minister's speech received praises from those present, Najib said.
He was also given an opportunity to speak to Saudi's King Abdullah Abdul Aziz Al-Saud who was in Riyadh. During his 25-minute telephone conversation with King Abdullah, the Saudi king expressed his full support to Najib's leadership in Malaysia.
The prime minister was also the first government leader to meet the new Saudi Arabian Crown Prince, Prince Naif Abdul Aziz, who is also the Saudi Arabian Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister, in a meeting on Tuesday night.
"The meeting with him lasted half an hour and it showed that the Saudi government, especially King Abdullah, who is the custodian of the holy mosque and the overall Islamic leadership of the Saudi government looked highly upon Malaysia and our government," Najib said on his arrival at the Bunga Raya Complex at the Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) yesterday.
He said the strong support from the Saudi government would only strengthen the Malaysian government's determination and spirit to continue with the struggle in showing that it was on the right track.
"Let us pray together for everything that we are doing today and also for our leadership to have the continued blessings from Allah."
Najib also expressed his gratitude and appreciation to Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for running the country's administration smoothly during his absence.
"Also, thank you to those who are here today to greet the arrival of my wife and our entourage. Alhamdulilah, we have completed our pilgrimage and may Allah accept our prayers as 'haji mabrur'.
"We will continue with our struggle with spirit, strength, and faith so that we can ensure that our goals and ambitions will be achieved."
The prime minister and his entourage arrived at 3.25pm yesterday from Mecca after completing their pilgrimage. He was accompanied by his mother, Tun Rahah Mohamad Noah, and Najib's younger brother, Datuk Mohamed Nazim, as well as Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir.
Najib and his entourage left for Medina, Saudi Arabia, to perform their pilgrimage on Oct 31. Present to welcome Najib's return were Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and his wife, Puan Sri Norainee Abdul Rahman
