Aiming to enhance civil liberties in the country, Malaysia will abolish a colonial-era draconian law that allows security forces to detain suspects indefinitely and was used by authorities to crush protests by a Hindu rights group.
The Malaysian deputy prime minister also said more was being done to increase the intake of ethnic Indians in the civil service.
Nearly 40,000 Indian nationals have gone "missing" in Malaysia after the expiry of their tourist visas, Malaysian Prime Minister Mohammad Najib Tun Razak said on Monday, indicating that he may take up the issue with New Delhi during his forthcoming visit to India.
Malaysian security forces gunned down 32 Filipino intruders in Borneo, bringing the death toll in the three-week long standoff to 60, after armed followers of a self-proclaimed Filipino Muslim Sultan took over an entire village in Sabah province.
Malaysia on Wednesday said it wants to complete talks this year for a separate trade-opening pact with India, in addition to liberalising commerce through the Indo-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement, operationalised this month.
The meeting was sought by the Malaysian Prime Minister, who wanted to have discussions with the young Congress leader about various aspects of his party, sources said.
Sources said that the Malaysian prime minister invited Ambani to invest in sectors like power, media and financial businesses.
Seeking to give new impetus to the bilateral relations, India and Malaysia today formally announced firming up of Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) to boost trade and decided on a range of other engagements in various sectors, including defence.
The two leaders are likely to finalise the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement, which will be formally signed in January next year after the due process of 'legal scrubbing' is over, sources said. The CECA, once signed, might come into force from July 2011.
Considering the common linkages, high-level trust, complementarities, and convergent interests between the two nations, Malaysia has the potential to become India's key partner in Southeast Asia, says Dr Rahul Mishra.
Expressing solidarity with Malaysia, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday wrote to his Malaysian counterpart saying the global outrage over the shooting down of aircraft MH17 was "justifiable" and India supports efforts to establish the exact circumstances of the incident.
As India seeks to deepen its engagement with the 10-nation bloc of small and medium economies, Modi said both India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations are keen to enhance their cooperation in advancing balance, peace and stability in the region.
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