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Prabowo bows out of talks due to fever, Malaysia's Anwar says
The President has reportedly bowed out of a meeting with the Malaysian prime minister for health reasons, and it is unknown if the leaders will reschedule their talks before Prabowo's upcoming visit in January 2025.
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President Prabowo Subianto (second left, front row) prepares to take a “family photo” on Dec. 19 with other leaders, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (center left), Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi (center right) and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian (third right, front), during the 11th summit of the Developing Eight (D-8) Organization for Economic Cooperation in Cairo. (Handout/Iran's Presidential Website/Weast Asia News Agency via Reuters)
M
alaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has said on social media that President Prabowo Subianto “postponed” the two leaders’ scheduled meeting in Langkawi for health reasons.
“My family and I are at Langkawi Island to receive a visit from dear friend President Prabowo Subianto today. However, last night he postponed our meeting for several days due to fever,” Anwar said on Monday in a post on X.
“Praying that President Prabowo swiftly regains his health, [and] hopefully proceed with the planned meeting of our two countries.”
Two sources close to Prabowo confirmed on Monday that the President had bowed out of the meeting.
It remains unclear if the two leaders will reschedule their meeting before the year-end, but an official visit is planned for January, according to a senior Indonesian official on Sunday.
The 73-year-old President was expected to attend informal talks on bilateral and ASEAN cooperation in Malaysia, with Anwar saying on Saturday that he sought to tap into Prabowo’s “strong ties with ASEAN leaders and extensive experience”.
Malaysia assumes the ASEAN chairmanship next year and plans to host two summits, in May and November.
Prabowo and Anwar’s meeting was set to follow regional talks in Bangkok last week, where Myanmar’s ruling junta briefed neighboring countries on its plan to hold an election in 2025, as well as a separate meeting of ASEAN member states to discuss the Myanmar crisis.
The 10-nation bloc has been struggling to contain the fallout from the Feb. 1, 2021, military coup that overthrew Myanmar’s democratically elected government. While the junta’s grip on power has been weakened by sustained resistance, ASEAN’s response to the crisis in the war-torn country has been limited.
Prabowo has made multiple overseas visits this year in his previous role as defense minister, firmly cementing his foreign policy acumen.
Since taking office in October, he has gone on a five-country tour to China, the United States, Peru, Brazil and the United Kingdom, as well as visited other countries including Qatar.
Last week, he traveled to Egypt to attend the 11th summit of the Developing Eight (D-8) Organization for Economic Cooperation of emerging powers from the Islamic world, which Indonesia chairs next year. (tjs)
