The International Institute of Islamic Thought and Civilisation (Istac) has yet to receive any formal invitation from China for a visit to Beijing and a field trip to Xinjiang sometime this year, according to its head, Osman Bakar.
As such, Osman told Malaysiakini that no decisions have been made on whether Istac - a research arm of the International Islamic University Malaysia - will accept or reject the invitation reportedly made by China's Ambassador to Malaysia, Bai Tian last week.
"We have yet to receive any formal invitation. We only read about it in the papers.
"They (reportedly) invited us, but we have yet to receive anything official," he said when met at the Istac campus in Kuala Lumpur, on the sidelines of a forum on "Islam and the Malay Nusantara" that featured experts from Indonesia and Malaysia.
"I believe the Chinese Embassy issued the statement as a response to Foreign Minister (Saifuddin Abdullah)," he said.
On Wednesday, Bai reportedly said the offer to visit Xinjiang - to enable obtaining "first-hand and valid information" on developments in the region - was made in the light of the strong Malaysia-China bilateral ties which have existed since the start of the diplomatic relations between the two countries.
"I am confident that the Malaysian government will maintain its fairness and objectivity.
"I also hope that the Xinjiang issue will become something positive for Muslims in both countries (and to) increase the understanding of each other, rather than (focus on) negative issues," Bai reportedly said in an interview with several local media, including Bernama, at the People's Republic of China's embassy in Kuala Lumpur.
He said this when asked to comment on a media report that quoted Saifuddin as saying that the government had appointed Istac to study and validate news reports on the alleged persecution of the Uyghur community in Xinjiang.
Quizzed further, Osman said Istac's decision will only be made after it received further details of the invitation.
"We will have to look and see... I don't want to comment further.
"There needs to be a black and white (invitation), this is (a) sensitive (issue)," he said.
Last Dec 9, Bai, in an opinion piece carried by several local media here, refuted what he described as sensationalised "half-truths" by Western media.
His arguments follow a New York Times expose last November that highlighted a trove of leaked Chinese government documents which revealed details of its clampdown on Uyghurs and other Muslims in the country's western Xinjiang region under President Xi Jinping.
United Nations experts and activists say at least one million Uyghurs and members of other largely Muslim minority groups have been detained in camps in Xinjiang in a crackdown that has drawn condemnation from the United States and other countries. - Mkini
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