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Anwar’s premiership could strengthen RI-Malaysia ties: Experts
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Malaysia's newly appointed Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim takes the oath during the swearing-in ceremony at the National Palace in Kuala Lumpur on Nov. 24.
(AFP/Mohd Rasfan)
T
he appointment of Anwar Ibrahim as the 10th Prime Minister of Malaysia will strengthen Indonesia-Malaysia relations due to his closeness with Indonesia as well as his image as a pluralistic moderate Muslim figure from Malaysia, experts believe.
Anwar was sworn in as prime minister in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, after being chosen by the Malaysian King Al-Sultan Abdullah Ahmad Shah following a five-day political deadlock emanating from the election that resulted in a hung parliament.
Dewi Fortuna Anwar, a senior researcher on international politics and foreign policy at the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN) said that Anwar is a well known figure with a lot of friends and admirers in Indonesia.
She added that his close relations with many members of the Indonesian political elites – from former president Bacharuddin Jusuf Habibie to President Joko “Jokowi '' Widodo – could translate into a stronger partnership between the neighboring countries.
“Close personal relationships among leaders are just as important as impersonal state-to-state relationships,” Dewi said on Friday.
She also said that Anwar’s political views are in line with Indonesia as a pluralistic and Muslim majority but not an Islamic state.
“It seems that Anwar wants to bring that pluralism in Malaysia, which made him popular among ethnic minorities there but not necessarily with the Malay ethnic group that want to keep their privileges,” Dewi said.
