Anwar Ibrahim advocates ‘neutral’ Malaysia amid great power rivalry in Asia-Pacific

ISTANBUL (AA) – Malaysia represents a zone of peace, freedom and neutrality, said Anwar Ibrahim, the country’s top reformer and politician, strongly suggesting against taking any side in global bloc politics.

However, he added, his country cannot ignore China.

Ibrahim, an academic-turned politician, was discussing the return of the so-called “great game” in the wider Asia-Pacific region, where the US is forging bilateral and multilateral alliances to counter the expanding economic and military influence of China.

“But we cannot ignore the importance of the rising China,” Ibrahim, the incumbent opposition leader in the Malaysian parliament, told Anadolu Agency in an exclusive interview.

Malaysia and China share maritime borders in the hotly contested South China Sea, where several nations are in conflict with Beijing over its vast claims over the mineral-rich waters

Ibrahim said Malaysia “does not have a problem with China.”

Stressing that trade and investments through good and friendly relations were of paramount importance for the survival of nations, Ibrahim said: “I don’t have any inhibition about having good relations with China or Russia or Europe.”

In the case of Malaysia, he said the country relies to a large extent on Western technology, American experience in governance and education.

“But we also accept the fact that the scenario is changing, China is growing,” he said, adding Malaysia cannot ignore its immediate neighbors including the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore and Thailand besides India, Australia and Pakistan.