Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak today was tightlipped on the walkout by foreign envoys, who were peeved at the caustic speech of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad at a conference last week.

"I won't comment on that. I won't comment on that," he said when quizzed on the issue at a press conference in Kuala Lumpur.

In his speech at the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (Suhakam) annual conference, Mahathir had rained criticism on the United States and United Kingdom. He accused the superpowers of double standards in their pursuit of human rights.

This prompted British High Commissioner Bruce Elliot Cleghorn ( photo ) and Hungarian ambassador Tamas Toth to leave the event.

In a statement later, Cleghorn said he left because he could not tolerate the "abuse and misrepresentation" of his country.

Foreign relations

Parliamentary Opposition Leader Lim Kit Siang said the Malaysian government was clearly embarrassed by the incident.

He said that, if Mahathir continues with such disparaging remarks, it would have an effect on foreign relations.

However, he expressed confidence that Malaysia would be able to manage the fallout.

"I'm sure the country can take (such incidents) in its stride," he added when contacted later.

In a related development, British High Commission second secretary in charge of political/public diplomacy Dawn Naughton said a formal protest would not be lodged over the incident.

"Mahathir ( photo ) is a former prime minister of Malaysia. We don't believe his views represent those of the Malaysian government," she quoted a statement issued by the British Foreign Office in London.

"We therefore do not think it will affect our good relations with the Malaysian government," she added.

Following the walkout, Mahathir told reporters that it was the envoys' right to do so, as much as he had the right to criticise their nations.

This was not the first time that the former premier had ruffled feathers with his hard-hitting remarks.

Prior to his retirement, Mahathir provoked an international outburst when he claimed that the Jews were ruling the world through proxies.

Meanwhile, Parti Keadilan Pakyat (PKR), in a statement on the incident, said: "The ambition to bring change in the country will not be achieved if it is still burdened with issues from Mahathir's era as PM... in fact, it will only make things worse".

It also criticised Suhakam for insisting that Mahathir should speak at the conference, despite opposition being registered to this.