Malaysia will exhort the Organisation of Islamic (OIC) countries to take serious steps to save Syria from destruction due to the civil war in the Middle Eastern country. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Malaysia would voice its stand and request at the OIC Extraordinary Summit, which begins here, Tuesday. “The OIC should take positive and sterner steps to save Syria and not take political measures only,” he told Malaysian journalists covering the summit. The prime minister is leading the Malaysian delegation to the summit hosted by Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah Abdul Aziz Al Saud. The summit is to discuss the latest situation in certain countries of the Islamic world with the aim of reviving and strengthening unity among Muslims throughout the world and to fight the elements that have created conflicts and troubles in the Muslim world, Malaysian Bernama news agency reported. On media reports that Syria’s membership with the OIC has been suspended, Najib said the matter would also be raised at tonight’s meeting, and Malaysia’s stand was for Syria to be saved from being destroyed and that the OIC should protect the fate of Muslims in the turbulent country. The Syrian conflict began on March 2011 with public demonstrations as part of the wider Arab Spring and developed into a nationwide uprising and a civil war in 2012. Protesters have demanded the end to nearly five decades of Ba’ath Party rule, as well as the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad. The Syrian government deployed its army to quell the uprising and soldiers were reportedly ordered to open fire on civilians. The 17-month conflict has killed more than 21,000 people, according to monitoring groups.