Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s ability to resolve disputes as he assumes the Asean chairmanship has been called into question after one of the region’s most prominent diplomats criticised him for his proposal to enter tariff negotiations with Washington as a unified bloc.
Bilahari Kausikan, the former Singapore permanent envoy to the United Nations, said Anwar’s proposal to engage the US as a collective Asean bloc was impossible as each member state would prefer to do so individually.
“It was impossible for Asean given the range in tariffs and the differences in economies to engage collectively,” said Kausikan, a former Singapore ambassador whose frank views on international relations are highly regarded in diplomatic circles.
“Only the Malaysian PM thought otherwise or pretended to because he can never resist the temptation to grandstand,” he added.
This came after the Trump administration told a Malaysian delegation led by Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz recently that it would not engage in tariff negotiations with Asean as a unified bloc, favouring bilateral talks with individual member states instead.
Malaysia is among the countries affected by higher tariffs – 24% – in addition to the universal 10% that President Donald Trump announced on all goods exported to the US.
Days after Trump made the announcement last month, Anwar, who is also the finance minister, said Asean countries should act as a collective bloc to resolve trade tariff issues with Washington.
Earlier this month, the government-run national news agency Bernama showered praise on Anwar’s proposal, calling it a display of “acute political acumen as chair of Asean in navigating challenges confronting the region”.
“These attributes coupled with Anwar’s persona in maintaining cordial ties with both friend and foe have positioned it advantageously in tariff negotiations and putting forward South-east Asia’s economic interests as the regional group’s chair,” wrote the Bernama editorial on May 1.
However, a stream of opinions on social media clearly contradicts this view.
Kausikan’s criticism was followed by countless comments, many of which said Anwar had no clue on handling economic issues.
“At least you guys can witness the stupidty of our prime minister from Malaysia,” wrote Brader Bob on Facebook.
“MOU is Anwar’s favourite. But nothing gets done,” said Jansen Ong, referring to Anwar’s various foreign trips where he then announced potential investments that critics say were only on paper.
Sylvester Zhuo said: “Actually quite a few of his Cabinet members enjoy grandstanding/showboating for attention.”
Abu Affan, meanwhile, said little could be expected from Anwar “who does nothing more than echo words like a parrot— loud, repetitive, and ultimately empty”.
“He goes around saying he doesn’t even draw a salary for his position, as if that alone justifies the lack of action or results,” he added.
Meanwhile, Kausikan reiterated that Anwar was “grandstanding” in response to a suggestion that the proposal to engage Asean as a group was influenced by China.
“Not Chinese influence but Anwar grandstanding!” said Kausikan.
This was followed by Jason CJ, who wrote that Anwar has the tendency to impose ideas, “some of which may be in conflict to collective wisdom, even from his own countrymen/civil service”.
“I think so,” Kausikan replied.