Associated Press

Kuala Lumpur, April 25:

Malaysia pledged today to maintain its support for Japan’s bid for a permanent seat on the UN Security Council, but added that Tokyo should take more concrete steps to show remorse for its wartime aggression. Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar said his country has backed Japan’s push since the early 1990s because “Japan is the second-largest economy in the world.” “We’ve supported them over the last 10 years, so that support will continue,” he said. However, Syed Hamid said the fact that Japan “has apologised (for its WWII aggression)

should be followed up by actions that indicate their seriousness.” The foreign minister was responding to reporters’ questions about a gathering yesterday of about 150 ethnic Chinese Malaysians who opposed Japan’s bid for the UN seat.