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©New Straits Times (Used by permission)
from Roziana Hamsawi in Cairo, Egypt

THE government will continue to uphold and fight for the rights of the Malays and Islam as stated in the Constitution, Datuk Seri Najib Razak said.

Such matters should never be questioned, diluted or politicised, he said at a dinner with Malaysian Al-Azhar University students in Cairo on Sunday night.

The deputy prime minister said there seemed to be a tendency to question Malay rights and privileges.

"Don't even try to play around with this as it can create undesirable consequences for our country. The government we have now will continue to uphold all provisions enshrined in our Constitution."

Najib is in Egypt attending the World Economic Forum on the Middle East in Sharm El Sheikh.

He said while differing views were acceptable, Malay rights, the position of Islam, the Malay language and the role of the Malay rulers as stated in the Constitution should not be questioned.

"It is important that we Muslims dictate our strength and doing so does not mean that we will be unfair to other races because we will continue to help them," said Najib.

Also present at the dinner were his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor and Malaysian ambassador to Egypt Datuk Zainal Abidin Abdul Kadir.

Najib took questions during the two-hour dinner.

A medical student, Mohd Safrin Bashaalidin, asked that allowances for Public Service Department-sponsored students be reviewed due to the high cost of living.

Najib said he would bring it up with the authorities adding that rising costs were being felt not just in Egypt, but in Malaysia and other parts of the world.

To another question, he said the government would ask Malaysia Airlines to resume the Kuala Lumpur-Cairo route, cancelled in 2006 when the national airline was suffering huge losses.

Currently, Egypt Air flies to Kuala Lumpur three times a week via Mumbai.

Malaysians going home from Cairo also fly on Emirates and Kuwait Air, often having to endure long transits on the way.

The national carrier, however, flies from Amman and has a code-sharing agreement with Gulf Air to provide connectivity between Kuala Lumpur and Cairo through Bahrain and Muscat.

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