RIYADH: Malaysia adopts a balanced foreign policy approach between the West and the East, and stands clear of any sort of position that is deemed provocative, says Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
He said Putrajaya engages and depends on support, collaboration and investments from the West such as the United States and Europe, and at the same time, maintains excellent bilateral relations with China, South Korea and Japan.
“Especially with China, as there has been growing investments and interest,” Anwar said at the World Economic Forum (WEF) special meeting’s opening plenary session: A New Vision for Global Development.
Malaysia, he said, is very clear on not entering into any sort of a position that is deemed provocative against one another.
“We welcome investments based on our rules and will not enter into any sort of decision that is deemed to be provocative,” he said, Bernama reported.
Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister, said that for a small emerging economy, the balancing act is not an easy feat.
“I think so far we have managed. We have to navigate very wisely and we are fortunate because there is somewhat an Asean consensus on this, though not in full because of different strengths, but at least within the Asean mechanism, there has been this sort of a position where we maintain our neutrality,” he said.
Anwar arrived in Riyadh at 10.25pm on Saturday for a three-day working visit to participate in the two-day WEF special meeting themed “Global Collaboration, Growth and Energy for Development”.
He said the Malaysian delegation will also share the country’s policies and direction besides emphasising the country’s stance on regional geopolitical issues before world leaders.
“God willing, starting today, I along with senior ministers and other Malaysian delegates will attend the conference and hold several important meetings with world leaders and global corporate heads,” he said in a post on Facebook.
According to the Prime Minister’s itinerary, he is scheduled to participate in a Joint Regional Strategy Dialogue on Asean – Gulf Cooperation Council, in view of Malaysia’s chairmanship of Asean in 2025.
During this session, he is expected to deliver the opening remarks.
Another key highlight of the working visit is the Country Strategy Dialogue on Malaysia, in which Anwar will engage with prominent business leaders to explore economic opportunities in Malaysia.
On the sidelines of the summit, Anwar is scheduled to hold bilateral meetings with several leaders including his Jordanian counterpart Bisher Hani Al-Khasawneh and Rwanda President Paul Kagame.
He will also join other heads of state and government for a special dinner hosted by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Salman.
Meanwhile, in the same post, Anwar also shared his concerns about the culture of reading materials such as the Dewan Masyarakat magazine, which is not popular among young people in schools and universities.
“Thinking about finding the best way to invigorate the culture of iqra (reading) and nourish the tradition of aqliyyah (the tradition of knowledge),” said Anwar, who made Dewan Masyarakat a reading material on the flight to Riyadh.
Anwar shared his admiration for the language, the quality of work and the choice of interesting articles with the theme of “argument debate” which is an effort to encourage fresh discourse based on arguments and facts while rejecting bigotry and slander.
“Referring specifically to the Dewan Masyarakat, articles on bigoted politics, argumentative debates, review of the book The History of Java and the prominence of George Santayana is a careful and valuable treatment. Hopefully, it can capture the interest of the audience.
“The selected poem Bahasa Tanpa Kasta by Abizal (Miri) turns out to flow with clarity of mind, cooling the heart of every human being, crossing the boundaries of continents, ages and eras,” he said.
