Guest Editorial: PM Anwar Ibrahim's Guidance to Australia on Sinophobia and Gaza
Lim Teck Ghee
Making the news in the mainstream western media around the world but not in Australia which is hosting the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit 2024 was the forthright response from Malaysia PM Anwar Ibrahim during his press conference to a question from Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) journalist Stephen Dziedzic
The transcript of this conversation is reproduced here as it has not been followed up with any report from the ABC despite its undoubted importance for Australian and Asian policy makers and public.
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister Anwar, last week in the Financial Times you criticised what was apparently termed as ‘sinophobia’ in the United States and perhaps the broader west in its dealings with the region. Can you expand on that, sir? What did you mean by that? How does that manifest? And can I also ask, do you view Australia's attempts to build-up its own military capacity, including through AUKUS, in the face of Beijing's own massive military build-up - do you view that as a reasonable response? Or does Malaysia harbour concerns?
PRIME MINISTER ANWAR: You know these difficult questions to be addressed to the host. But anyway, my reference to China-phobia is because the criticism levied against us for giving additional focus to China - my response is, trade investments is open and right now China seems to be the leading investor and trade into Malaysia. Cumulatively still, United States of America, it's an open trading policy to encourage investments overseas from foreign countries. But we are independent nation, we are fiercely independent. We do not want to be dictated by any force. So, once we remain to be an important friend to the United States or Europe and here in Australia, they should not preclude us from being friendly to one of our important neighbours, precisely China. That was the context. And if they have problems with China, they should not impose it upon us. We do not have a problem with China. So, that's why I referred to the issue of China-phobia in the West.
(https://www.pm.gov.au/media/press-conference-melbourne-4)
“We are [an] independent nation, we are fiercely independent”
“We do not want to be dictated by any force”
“Don't preclude us from being friendly to one of our important neighbours”
“If they have problems with China, they should not impose it upon us
“Why must I be tied to one interest? I don’t buy into this strong prejudice against China, this China-phobia” - Anwar Ibrahim interview with Financial Times, February 25, 2024.
Lim Teck Ghee, ANU PhD graduate, is a Malaysian economic historian and policy analyst. He has a regular column, Another Take, in The Sun, a Malaysian daily and Oriental Daily; and is the author of Challenging the Status Quo in Malaysia, and Dark Forces Changing Malaysia (with Murray Hunter).
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There are plenty of more important and pressing matters to deal with in Malaisesia, why is Dear Mullah making his divine self useful for the convictd of Oz?
For one, we need to resolve the Bah Kut Teh crisis. This crisis is actually quite easy to deal with, we just need to substitute the blessed pork with mutton, and call the creation Baaa Kut Teh. The Muslims would be pleased the halal rules are observed, the Chinese would still get to call the dish something very near in sound to the original name.
Our garbage politicians can still get to play pork barrel politics, wtf.
At the same time it is curious Anwar, being a long time stooge of the US neocons and the US in general, hasn't been met with the usual disparaging attacks from these obvious quarters for his now khalwat with China.
Given that Malaysia is stuck with its just about only major trading partner which is hardly the choice the US (or even Oz) would be joyous about, the kind of charming statements our Mullah has been forced to make about China do beg the question why the massahs have been unusually tolerant to let our dear Mullah off with. That is impossible since the US is still deluded it is the masters of the Universe. Further, the Chinese are doing their own durians in a big way, soon we're going to end up with no leverage on them, we're just going to become irrelevant even with our Musang Kings - and Admiral Sanusi, our No Cheng Ho ho ho.
So what gives? Is Mullah as usual playing both sides and every side? Has Dear Mullah quietly given the assurance to the handlers that while he does the khalwat with China, only the "collective West" remains dear to him?
Our foreign-funded mouthpieces, stormtroopers, sleepers, and stooges haven't rose up mouthing off against Dear Mullah, let alone gone to the streets with their riots, colours, and umbrellas, have they not got the cue to do a "Thailand.. Burma.. or Hong Kong.."?
"China-phobia"? Bolehland "independence"? Malaysia free at last? Has that "multipolar world" infection/inflection reached Bolehland? The Mullah overdosed on tongkat Ali? Where's the joke? What's going on, eh?
Still, any useful statement Mullah should make is to tell Australia not tf to sail their submarines or sampans anywhere near our waters.
Or, more correctly, Chinese waters.