Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak is thankful for being vindicated on the allegations surrounding the Malaysia-China Kuantan Industrial Park (MCKIP).

This came after The Star quoted Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Fuziah Salleh as saying that there are Malaysians working in the industrial park and that they wish to keep their jobs.

Fuziah also said the industrial park’s infamous wall only surrounds the Alliance Steel (M) Sdn Bhd complex and not the entire MCKIP as previously alleged, and that she would inform Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad of the error.

Najib said in a Facebook posting last night: “This had been explained before and was buried under the slander that was being spread by Pakatan Harapan...

“Alhamdulillah, another pre-GE14 slander against the previous BN government has been corrected. What was good was alleged to be bad.”

In an interview with Malaysiakini, Mahathir had said that he would like to see the wall - which locals call Kuantan’s ‘Great Wall of China’ - at MCKIP to go down, both literally and figuratively.

The Star reported that when asked about Mahathir’s statement, Fuziah said this only meant that foreign investors in Malaysia would have to follow Malaysian laws and procedures.

"What he said about tearing down the walls could be just words used to describe that they have to follow the law," said Fuziah (photo), who is also Kuantan MP.

"I personally have received calls from Malaysians working inside there, saying that they want to keep their jobs.

"We want them to have their jobs, but at the same time, we want to ensure that they are safe," she was quoted as saying.

The report also said Fuziah visited Alliance Steel last month and found that its equipment had not been certified by the Department of Occupational Safety and Health.

She had said the allegation that the wall surrounded the whole MCKIP area probably arose because of lack of information, and added that she would explain the actual situation to Mahathir.

"Before this, when we were the opposition, we were not allowed to enter so we have no information on what's going on in there," the Aug 25 report quoted her as saying.

Najib said Alliance Steel alone involved RM5.5 billion in foreign investment and employs 4,000 locals, and that the MCKIP as a whole provides jobs for tens of thousands of Malaysians.

He added that the wall was necessary because a steel mill is not a safe place for the general public, so it should not be surprising that the wall was built as a security measure.