PUTRAJAYA (Oct 21): Malaysia's bilateral ties with Saudi Arabia remain strong despite the international community putting pressure on Riyadh following the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Foreign Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah said Malaysia would not intervene in the issue and he believed that Saudi Arabia could take care of it themselves.

"When many of our people were killed in the Malaysia Airlines MH17 tragedy, Malaysia remained with the stand to look at the results of the full investigation.

"In the same spirit, since the investigation (on Khashoggi's death) has begun, we will just wait for the investigation to be completed," he told a press conference after chairing the Consultative Council on Foreign Policy meeting here today.

He was asked about Malaysia's stand on the issue as several countries have reportedly withdrawn their participation in the Saudi Arabian investment conference in Riyadh following Khashoggi's murder.

Yesterday, the Saudi state news agency reported that the country admitted Khashoggi was killed in its consulate in Istanbul.

According to the report, a discussion between the Washington Post newspaper columnist and the party he met in the consulate had turned into a ‘fistfight’ which ultimately led to his death.