LAHAD DATU, Sept 12 — As a sovereign and independent nation, Malaysia has the right to determine what is best for itself and its people, including how it establishes diplomatic ties with other countries, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
As such, he said, no party should attempt to pressure the country in that aspect, as Malaysia aims to maintain good relations with all countries.
The prime minister, who recently made a working visit to Russia, also said his meeting with President Vladimir Putin was aimed at strengthening Kuala Lumpur’s relationship with Moscow and encouraging Russia to increase its import of palm oil from Malaysia.
“In my meeting with President Putin, some people questioned why Malaysia would seek to improve relations with Russia, and what America or Europe might think.
“We are a free and independent country; we decide what is best for our nation.
“We should maintain good relations with all countries, but no country should try to pressure us,” he said at the launch of the Segalanya Felda carnival here today.
Anwar said countries such as India, China, Egypt, and the Netherlands are among major importers of Malaysian palm oil, and that he is working to ensure these countries increase their imports of this commodity.
“We are now asking Russia to increase its imports, which is why we are establishing relations with them. China has agreed to increase its import of palm oil.
“When I met with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he also said India will increase palm oil imports (from Malaysia),” he said.
Anwar said his visits to these countries also aimed to boost trade and promote Malaysia’s tourism sector and popular destinations such as Sabah, Sarawak, Langkawi, and Penang, which are deemed to be among the places with the most beautiful natural landscapes in the world.
“This is also to attract tourists from Russia, as Malaysia currently records only about 100,000 Russian tourist arrivals compared to Turkiye which records between five to 10 million tourist arrivals annually,” he said.
Anwar said he had also been invited by Egypt President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to visit Egypt, which he sees as an opportunity to strengthen bilateral relations and also to persuade Egypt to increase its import of Malaysian palm oil.
“This is my chance to ask him to buy more palm oil from Malaysia. God willing, I will go and convey greetings from Lahad Datu and Sabah to President El-Sisi. I will tell him the people here grow oil palm and will ask him to buy more palm oil from us in the future,” he said to cheers from the crowd.
Anwar said he also plans to share with El-Sisi the beauty of Lahad Datu and Sabah, which are key tourist destinations in eastern Malaysia.
Also present at the carnival at Felda Sahabat here were Sabah Finance Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun, representing Chief Minister Datuk Seri Hajiji Mohd Noor, and Felda chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek.
— Bernama
