Political and economic stability must be in place for Malaysia to regain its influential position as middle power

KUALA LUMPUR: The international community welcomed Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's appointment as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia, placing high hopes for Malaysia's foreign policy and diplomacy going forward.

Former Foreign Minister Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar said the new government would need to focus its efforts to strengthen the economy, and political stability as well as improving Malaysia's image to restore its position as an influential middle power.

Malaysia needs to show that democracy in the country is still thriving after the election, said the veteran leader adding that the government, besides projecting confidence, must also focus on bilateral and multilateral relations with other countries.

"There may be a lot of political debate, but that shows that Malaysia is a democratic country and there is freedom of speech. We also have a parliamentary democracy and will convene on Dec 19. This is all an image building for the country.

"We also voice our desire to build our country based on the rule of law which is to follow the law and the independence of the judiciary. We also need to fight corruption, we must correct our image," he told Bernama.

The same view was shared by analyst Dr Oh Ei Sun, who said Anwar's short-term priorities remain resolutely domestic ones, as he needs to stabilise the domestic political scene and grow the domestic economy.

However, the latter also requires Malaysia to be more open-minded in its international obligations, such as adherence to free trade and open market, said the Senior Fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs.

As Anwar is an internationally well-known political personality, he said there are undoubtedly both domestic and foreign expectations for the new administration to play a more proactive and perhaps larger-than-life role internationally.

"With a consequentially strong economy and stable political landscape, Malaysia could then punch above its weight under Anwar's leadership to take on more international responsibilities and hopefully become an influential middle power," he said.

In particular, Oh said Malaysia could put up itself as a responsible mediator for the many conflicts around the world.

Syed Hamid said although Anwar had yet to specify the direction of the foreign policy in detail, his approach in his interaction with the leaders of other countries has been taken into account.

What is important for Malaysia now is its emphasis on maintaining bilateral relations with other countries.

"He has spoken with numerous leaders namely the President of Turkey (Recep Tayyip Erdogan), and Indonesian President Jokowi while the Sultan of Brunei has also visited Malaysia."

That, he said, marks the first move to show the outside world that the state of Malaysia is good and that there is already leadership in place, and the government would need to restore confidence in foreign countries.

Anwar's well-known personality among world leaders and the appointment of Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir as an experienced and highly educated foreign minister capable of returning Malaysia to the mainstream in international relations augured well.

"I think many people now say that Malaysia seems a little passive at the regional and international level, our role is not seen as significant, it is not seen as if we have played a role as a middle power country," he said.

"I look at Anwar's relations at the international level and he has many supporters at the international level. Therefore, I think that after this Malaysia's role will become more prominent," he said.

As an activist and reformer, Anwar was close to Islamic and developing countries, but at the same time his struggle was also supported by western countries. On the issue of competition between major powers in the region, he said Malaysia as a small country needs to take a balanced approach that favours Malaysia's national interests.

-- BERNAMA