Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has long styled himself as a man of letters – a bridge between East and West, a champion of civilisational discourse. In the 1990s he wrote The Asian Renaissance, portraying himself as a thinker of great cultural depth.
But that carefully cultivated facade came crashing down yet again during a recent joint press conference at the Kremlin, where Anwar sat beside Russian President Vladimir Putin on an official visit.
Putin recounted how, during an earlier private tour of the Grand St Andrew’s Hall, he had shown Anwar three thrones – one each for the Tsar and Tsarina, and a mysterious third left unlabelled.
Putin then asked Anwar who he thought the third throne was for, to which the latter answered, without missing a beat, “For the second wife.”
Laughter erupted as Putin told the story and disclosed that the throne was actually meant for the Tsar’s mother, while Anwar was seen covering his face in embarrassment during the media conference.
The self-proclaimed expert in world cultures and civilizations seems to be unaware that Russia is an Orthodox Christian-majority country where polygamy is illegal and historically frowned upon.
Anwar ought to be embarrassed. The self-proclaimed expert in world cultures and civilizations seems to be unaware that Russia is an Orthodox Christian-majority country where polygamy is illegal and historically frowned upon.
So, Putin seized the opportunity to assert dominance by making public Anwar’s cultural ignorance to the media. It wasn’t just a joke. It was a display of who truly held the upper hand in that room.
Putin used the occasion to publicly mock Anwar’s cultural faux pas by exposing the folly of Malaysia’s prime minister.
As always, back home, the Madani spin machinery is in overdrive. The press is working overtime to portray the embarrassing diplomatic blunder as merely a “light moment”.
Meanwhile, Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil unashamedly claimed that Anwar was the first Malaysian PM in two decades to receive full ceremonial honours in Russia – an assertion quickly mocked by netizens who questioned why a timeline of two decades was used, as if trying to erase the true history where similar receptions have been given to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, among others.
There’s a pattern here. This is a government that obsesses over optics but fumbles the substance. A leader who reminds the world of his intellectual pedigree but finds himself making offhand jokes about polygamy in a country where the practice is prohibited legally and stigmatised.
To top it off, Putin threw Anwar under the bus by revealing what was said in private, and letting the world laugh at our prime minister’s expense.
One would expect more gravitas from a self-declared Renaissance man. After all, the Renaissance was about reason, reflection, and dignity, not cultural faux pas.
For someone who has spent decades positioning himself as a global statesman, Anwar has been reduced to a court jester in Moscow.
In the end, behind the fanfare and diplomatic platitudes lies a sobering reality: Malaysia walked into Moscow seeking respect but walked out with the prime minister turned into a punchline of a press conference.
So, who has the last laugh? Certainly not us.
In trying to impress the Kremlin, Anwar has made our country a global laughingstock.
Wan Saiful Wan Jan is the Tasek Gelugor MP and head of the opposition’s communication portfolio.
The views expressed in this article are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the position of MalaysiaNow.
