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.

Najib also claimed to have acquired China's commitment to protect and defend the sovereignty of their separate states, hinting towards a mutual defence treaty.

"Malaysia and China are united in agreeing on the need to defend the sovereignty of the nation state and in the belief that the individual histories, values and governance systems of different countries must be respected," he said.

This as Malaysia has signed a contract to purchase littoral mission ships from China, and Najib announcing that he will sign more significant and bigger defence arrangement with the rising Asian power.

As the balance of global power shifts to Asia, it is time that standards and requirements be Asian in origins, said Najib.

"This is particularly relevant as the world’s fulcrum shifts East. It is crucial that global institutions reflect the legitimate desires and viewpoints of countries that were given no say in the legal and security infrastructure that was set up by the victors of the Second World War (WW2)," he wrote.

Najib was referring to the United Nations and related institutions that continue to dictate or at least push policy to the countries of the world, despite being based on the framework of the victors of the Second World War, to the detriment of the voices of the defeated or colonised.

"This is why we welcome China’s initiative in creating the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank. We need new institutions for a new era: of peaceful dialogue, not foreign intervention in sovereign states, and of 'win-win' cooperation that benefits all, not just the few," concluded Najib.

Najib had previously touched on the need for an agreement to bridge Asia and its neighbours across the Atlantic, like the US-led TPPA, of which Malaysia is a signatory.