KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia will continue to pursue bilateral and multilateral negotiations to address any issues with its ASEAN neighbours, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
In an interview with Chinese media outlet Guancha, Anwar Ibrahim stressed that Malaysia’s position is clear and it would not allow intervention from any external force.
ASEAN as a whole would prefer to take such a position rather than let external forces impose any conditions, he said.
”Our policy is clear. There is no underlying tension. There are indeed some controversial propositions, and we say, okay, let’s discuss them bilaterally, or multilaterally within ASEAN.
“Our position is that you have to negotiate among friends, and there is no reason for external forces to intervene,” he said.
Citing an example, Anwar said if Malaysia faced a problem with Singapore, Thailand, or Brunei, he would not want a third party to intervene but instead, it was pertinent for the parties concerned to resolve it amicably.
“This is a clear position. I will never indulge in complaining everywhere, making things more difficult, or creating an atmosphere of mistrust, which is beginning to appear in some ASEAN countries.
”Even on the issue of Myanmar, we said that there needs to be a consensus for cooperation, and neighbours can negotiate quietly,” he said.
During the interview, Anwar also spoke on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, highlighting that the ongoing conflict was about questions of justice, colonialism, and apartheid.
”People keep talking about October 7, which annoys me. Do you want to erase 70 years of history by harping on one event?
“This is the Western narrative. You see, this is the problem with the West. They want to control the discourse, but we can no longer accept it because they are no longer a colonial power, and independent countries should be free to express themselves,” he said.
