Anwar shouldn’t have gone to Saudi Arabia without firm appointment - KJ

 

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim should not have gone to Saudi Arabia without securing a firm appointment for an audience with its King Salman Abdulaziz Al Saud and Crown Prince Mohammed Salman Al Saud, said former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin.

This is especially since the schedules in Saudi Arabia would go ‘haywire’ during the first week of Ramadan.

“I have long been involved in arranging overseas trips including the prime minister’s programmes, and I know that we cannot go if the programme has not been ‘locked’.

“This is especially the case for people who know about Saudi culture. They won’t go during the first week of Ramadan because the schedules would go haywire during the first week.

“It cannot be last minute and perhaps they themselves have indicated - and I have been made to understand that Saudi Arabia itself has indicated - try not to come. Come later, because the first week of Ramadan is really haywire,” he said.

He was speaking at his 'Keluar Sekejap' podcast with former Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan yesterday.

Khairy Jamaluddin and former Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan during the ‘Keluar Sekejap’ podcast

Describing it as a ‘huge blunder’, he said the incident is not only an embarrassment to the prime minister but also to Malaysia and the rakyat.

The matter should not be trivialised given Saudi Arabia’s geopolitical importance, as well as business opportunities stemming from megaprojects in the country, he said.

“It is a different story if it was a private visit for umrah pilgrimage, but this was an official visit. The press release says it’s an official visit.

“That means taxpayers have paid the prime minister to go there. It is not a visit to do your umrah,” he said.

‘Take responsibility’

Meanwhile, Shahril said someone must take responsibility for the incident and be forthcoming in explaining it, rather than offering excuses that are difficult to swallow.

“So, this matter will be prolonged. And as I have said earlier, if the matter can be explained, those who are rational would be able to move on,” he said.

Anwar visited Saudi Arabia from March 22 to March 24.

According to Wisma Putra, the visit was at the invitation of the Saudi crown prince and Anwar was supposed to have an audience with King Salman and the crown prince.

However, the audience did not materialise. Anwar claimed that the Saudi government had requested he extends his trip to facilitate meetings with Saudi leaders, but the Malaysian delegation had to decline due to obligations at home.

Opposition leaders, particularly Perikatan Nasional Foreign Affairs Committee chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal, painted the incident as an embarrassment and demanded to know the cost of the visit.

He also contrasted the cold reception that Anwar received to that of Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin’s visit during the latter’s premiership. Muhyiddin was given the privilege of entering the Kaabah.

However, Community Communications Department (J-Kom) director-general Mohammad Agus Yusoff said Anwar’s visit should not be judged solely on the fact there was no meeting with the Saudi king and crown prince.

He instead highlighted other items on Anwar’s agenda, including receiving a courtesy call from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation secretary-general Hissein Brahim Taha; witnessing the signing of three memoranda of understanding between Malaysian companies and their Saudi counterparts; as well as addressing the larger business communities in Jeddah. - Mkini