Malaysia closes Saudi-backed anti-terrorism center 

SANAA, Aug. 8 (YPA) – The Malaysian government has shut down a Saudi-backed anti-terrorism center that was opened in May, 2017 by Saudi King Salman during his visit to Kuala Lumpur, the Associated Press Agency reported on Wednesday.

Malaysian Defense Minister, Mohammad Sabo, said in a written response to a question by the parliament that the so-called “King Salman Center for International Peace” would stop working immediately and that its tasks would be handled by the Malaysian Institute of Defense and Security, according to the agency.

The minister did not mention the reasons why the government took this step, and there was no immediate comment from the Saudi authorities.

The agency pointed to what it called “fears” in recent years about that Saudi Arabia has expanded in Malaysia in the era of the former prime minister, Najib Razak.

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