In what can be said to be a veiled threat to the West, Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has told off former colonial powers, telling them not to try and meddle in the internal affairs of former colonies.

He said this in a commentary in Chinese paper China Daily, titled "Fruits harvested from seeds of trust". The article was published as Najib is in the midst of a whirlwind visit to China.

"More generally, we believe it is incumbent upon larger countries to treat smaller ones fairly. And this includes former colonial powers. It is not for them to lecture countries they once exploited on how to conduct their own internal affairs today," wrote Najib.

His remarks comes on the footstep of concern from the US and the West over Malaysia's documented slide into worsening human rights abuses and increasing limits on freedom of expression and press freedom.