Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has dismissed claims by former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad that the government had prevented several foreign leaders from meeting him.
Anwar pointed out that despite a slew of foreign leaders making official visits to Malaysia recently, none have requested to meet the former prime minister.
“Which foreign leader wants to meet him? If they want to meet him, what’s the issue? If his old friends wish to meet him, there is no problem.
“Recently, leaders from Thailand, Japan, Indonesia, and Türkiye visited Malaysia, but none requested to meet him. And if they did, I wouldn’t say no. They are free to meet him, there is nothing wrong with that,” he was quoted by Bernama at a press conference after concluding his official visit to Bahrain at the invitation of Bahrain’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister Salman Hamad Al Khalifa.
‘They wanted to see me but couldn’t’
Recently, Mahathir claimed that Anwar prevented several foreign leaders from meeting him.
“Some foreign leaders from two or three countries wanted to meet me, but oh, (Anwar said) they couldn’t.
“These leaders are my friends; they know me. They came to Malaysia and wanted to meet me, but (Anwar said) oh, they couldn’t. So, he’s the one cutting all ties,” Mahathir alleged in a podcast interview.
Anwar stressed that Mahathir’s allegations should not be entertained.
“He makes accusations every day. He claims he has no money, yet his children have over RM1 billion. That is not an allegation, it’s a confession,” he said.
Palestinian cause
Anwar also said Malaysia will continue to champion the plight of the Palestinian people and their nation, which faces oppression and brutality.
Responding to an international media report claiming he had been advised not to be too firm on the Hamas-Israel issue to avoid retaliation from the United States, Anwar stressed that Malaysia is a free and sovereign nation.
“We have our stance and have expressed it firmly on various platforms. We are not choosing to oppose anyone, but wherever there is oppression and cruelty, we must stand in defence of the oppressed,” he said. - Mkini
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