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No Ban On Malaysians Visiting Thailand, Philippines

KUALA LUMPUR, March 7 (Bernama) - The government has not issued any order prohibiting Malaysians from visiting Thailand and the Philippines which are experiencing political turmoil, said Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar.

He however advised Malaysians who wished to visit the two countries to avoid places with problems or demonstrations.

"Most importantly, they must never at any time visit places where demonstrations are being held," he told a news conference after opening the new campus of the Institute of Diplomatic and Foreign Relations (IDFR) at Jalan Wisma Putra, here Tuesday.

Syed Hamid said they could contact the Malaysian embassy or Wisma Putra if they were uncertain about the local situation in the country concerned.

In his speech earlier, he said 20 Iraqi diplomats would undergo training at the institute for three weeks.

He said the training formed part of the Malaysian government's contribution to the reconstruction and redevelopment of Iraq which suffered severe damage during the 2003 war.

IDFR was established in 1991 under the Prime Minister's Department and later placed under the Foreign Ministry after a restructuring in 2004.

In the past 15 years, IDFR had occupied a section of the National Institute of Public Administration (INTAN) building in Jalan Ilmu but now has its own premises in the former Foreign Ministry building here after the ministry moved to Putrajaya.

--BERNAMA