He said the sanctions would hurt not only the country involved but also other countries for “no reason at all”.
“We have no quarrel with this country but we are stopped from doing any business with this country because of the sanctions. This is grossly unfair.
“As a small country, we cannot apply sanctions on anybody but it is the big powers which apply the sanctions and therefore it deprives the small countries of its freedom.
“Despite the fact that they keep on talking about human rights and freedom, they take away our freedom to trade with our own trading partners,” he said at a joint press conference with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen at the Prime Minister’s Office in the Peace Palace here today.
Mahathir said the issue would be brought up at the United Nations General Assembly, which will be held from Sept 17 to 30.
“It is a good platform for us to raise the issue,” he said.
Earlier, Mahathir, who is on three-day official visit to Cambodia, held a bilateral meeting with his counterpart, Hun Sen.
Mahathir said Malaysia and Cambodia had agreed that seas in the region should be free for navigation with no restrictions.
“It will hamper the development of countries bordering the seas,” he said.
On Timor Leste joining Asean, Mahathir said: “We will try to ensure Timor Leste becomes one of the Asean member countries at the next Asean meeting.
“Timor Leste has been applying to join Asean for a long time and it should become a member,” he said.
Meanwhile, Hun Sen said Malaysia and Cambodia are committed to pushing for a conclusion of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement within this year because it is vital for regional economic integration and growth.
Meanwhile, Mahathir and Hun Sen witnessed the signing of a double taxation avoidance agreement and a memorandum of understanding to cooperate on tourism.
Malaysia-Cambodia trade last year stood at US$558 million (RM2.35 billion). During the first six months of this year, the value reached US$422.6 million, an increase of 39.2% compared with the corresponding period last year.
About 400 Malaysian companies are now operating in the kingdom, including in banking, hospitality, telecommunications and petroleum.