Anwar’s admission vindicates concerns over the US-Malaysia reciprocal trade agreement

 

I BELIEVE I have been vindicated by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s statement in Parliament that the government is now seeking a written assurance from the United States that its reciprocal trade pact would not adversely affect Malaysia’s sovereignty.

Earlier, Anwar had dismissed criticisms that the trade pact with the US, signed on October 26, 2025 during the visit of US President Donald Trump, posed any threat to Malaysia’s sovereignty.

I went so far as to lodge a police report in Penang calling for the establishment of a special unit to investigate Anwar and others involved in the signing of the trade agreement.

Recently, members of Perikatan Nasional (PN) have filed a court case seeking a judicial ruling on the trade pact.I understand that a number of police reports have been lodged nationwide, including one by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Whether the police will establish a special team to investigate Anwar and others involved remains doubtful.

In any case, Anwar has, by his own admission, accepted that verbal assurances from the US were insufficient to protect Malaysia’s sovereignty.

(Image: Bernama)

His acknowledgment that written guarantees are now necessary suggests that the trade agreement was hurriedly signed between Malaysia and the US.

Since the terms of the agreement are weighted in favour of the US, it is clear that Malaysia stands to be negatively affected by the trade pact.

Anwar’s early euphoria over meeting Trump and signing the agreement appears to have clouded his judgment in critically examining the trade pact.

Perhaps he has since become wiser after being briefed on the potential problems arising from the agreement, especially in light of the US invasion of Venezuela and Trump’s sabre-rattling towards Greenland.

Therefore, Anwar’s admission in Parliament—that verbal assurances were inadequate and that written guarantees are now required—underscores the problematic and one-sided nature of the trade pact.

In my view, instead of asking the US for written guarantees, the government should rescind the trade pact altogether while there is still time.

The US arrest and detention of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife shatter the very concept of international diplomatic relations grounded in international law.

If the US can invade sovereign countries under the pretext of controlling drug-related activities, then written assurances of non-interference are meaningless.

Anwar knows very well that if Trump can threaten to invade Greenland—an internationally recognised territory of Denmark—then talk of international law and diplomacy becomes meaningless.

Anwar also knows that the trade pact with the US is deeply flawed and one-sided. Whether a written agreement from a neo-imperialist power like the US can guarantee Malaysia’s sovereignty remains highly doubtful.

(Image: PMO/Afiq Hambali)

Anwar may be naïve. He realises that he has placed Malaysia in a trap and now seeks to escape that entrapment through written assurances from the US.

Trump does not care about diplomacy, whether verbal or written. If he chooses, he will punish Malaysia. Anwar is nobody to Trump in today’s world, where the sword is mightier than the pen.

Anwar should stop fooling Malaysians in an attempt to hide the biggest blunder of this nefarious and treacherous trade agreement with the US.

There is no need for verbal or written assurances from the US. The trade agreement should be cancelled and consigned to the dustbin of history.

For embarrassing and demeaning the country, Anwar should not go beyond his first term as prime minister. 

Former DAP stalwart and Penang deputy chief minister II Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy is the United Rights of Malaysian Party (Urimai) interim council chairman.

The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT.

- Focus Malaysia.