The selfie of Najib Abdul Razak and King Salman Abdulaziz Al Saud during the latter's recent state visit to Malaysia was an opportunity to show the human side of Saudi Arabia's monarch, said the prime minister.

Taking the opportunity to capture their memorable moments during the visit, Najib said he was surprised and delighted that the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques accepted his request for a selfie.

"I took the selfie with him and I said to myself this is an opportunity to show King Salman in a new angle because he is in fact a very nice person.

"I wanted to show the human side of King Salman, an aspect which does not appear evidently especially when we adhere to the requirements of the protocol and the other things we have become accustomed to," he said in an exclusive interview with Al Arabiya News Channel in conjunction with the Saudi Arabia’s ruler recent historical visit to Malaysia.

In the interview which was conducted by Al Arabiya general manager Turki Aldakhil on King Salman's leadership, Najib said that he actually took a risk and posted the picture showing them together in a car on Twitter and Facebook.

"But the 'selfie' somehow took both Malaysia and Saudi Arabia by storm, and both sides were delighted," Najib said.

At press time, the photo which was posted on Najib's official Twitter account on Feb 27, has garnered some 20,000 retweets and 7,643 likes, while the post on his official Facebook has garnered around 26,000 positive responses and 2,000 shares.

On another note, Najib described King Salman as a leader with a lot of charisma, warmth, and care.

"He has ample knowledge especially with history and a great desire to encourage cooperation. I have a lot of respect due to his leadership role," he added.

- Bernama