MALAYSIA has signalled it is not about to lift a boycott of British firms in six weeks as it shrugged off hints by a British minister of a possible backlash from London if the ban is not lifted soon.
Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad was unsympathetic towards British Trade Minister Richard Needham's concern that pressure would grow on Premier John Major's government to retaliate if the Malaysian Government prolonged the ban.
''The pressure they face is their problem. We are also pressured. There will be pressure in any government,'' Mr Mahathir was quoted by Bernama news agency as saying.
He also said he was unaware of the possibility of the government lifting the ban within six weeks - as anticipated by Mr Needham - adding that he had not been informed of the likelihood.
''I do not know, maybe he had information which I have yet to receive,'' said an unrelenting Mr Mahathir, suggesting that the rift might be a long-drawn affair after all.
Mr Needham's comments, made in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, has ruffled Malaysia just as the rift appeared to be on the mend.
