KUALA LUMPUR — Malaysia prime minister Najib Razak admitted that his attempt at taking a selfie with King Salman Abdulaziz and posting it on Twitter was risky, as it did not adhere to the official protocol during the latter's visit here.

Despite that, the prime minister said the casual move had paid off since it showed a more human side of the Saudi Arabian ruler.

"I ventured when I asked King Salman for a selfie. I was surprised and delighted that he accepted my request," Mr Najib said in a recorded interview with Saudi news portal Al-Arabiya published today (March 6).

"I took the selfie with him and I said to myself this is an opportunity to show King Salman in a new angle because he is, in fact, a very nice person, I wanted to show the human side of King Salman, an aspect which does not appear evidently especially when we adhere to the requirements of the protocol and the other things we have become accustomed to."

The prime minister had taken the photo on Feb 27, showing the two of them together in a car.

According to Mr Najib, the risky move paid off, claiming it was well-received by the public online.

"But the selfie took Malaysia and Saudi Arabia by a storm and both sides were delighted," said Mr Najib.

The Umno president said King Salman is a leader with a lot of charisma, warmth, and is caring.

Mr Najib also had taken a selfie together with the Saudi Minister of Energy Khalid Al-Falih after the signing of the strategic RM31.1 billion (S$9.87 billion) deal between state oil and gas companies Petronas and Saudi Aramco.

Last week, King Salman visited Malaysia as part of a four-day state visit. It was his first visit here since ascending the throne in 2015. MALAY MAIL ONLINE