Latest news with #AnwarIbrahim
Yahoo
5 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Malaysians urge government to reject ‘Zionist' Nick Adams as US envoy
Malaysians are urging their government to reject Donald Trump's appointment of conservative provocateur Nick Adams as the US ambassador to their country. Political parties, parliamentarians and members of the public are pressing Anwar Ibrahim's government to reject the MAGA commentator as ambassador to the majority Muslim country over his 'vocal support of Israel's Zionist regime'. Mr Adams, 40, a provocateur with a reputation for making incendiary social media posts, including one in which he referred to pop star Taylor Swift as a 'woke jezebel", was nominated by Mr Trump last week. Mr Adams was born in Sydney before immigrating to the US in 2012. If confirmed by the senate, he would replace Edgard Kagan, who took the job less than 16 months ago. Although Mr Adams, who became a US citizen in 2021, does have prior political experience, he has never been a diplomat. He was a member of Australia's Liberal Party before being driven out over an offensive rant about a journalist. 'Nick Adams is not a diplomat, not a statesman,' Mus'ab Muzahar from Amanah party, a member of the ruling coalition, said. 'He's merely an extreme right-wing propagandist, a Trumpist and vocal supporter of Israel's Zionist regime. His social media rhetoric is full of hatred, racism and Islamophobic sentiments which veer far from mature bilateral relations.' Mr Muzahar warned that Malaysia was "not a testing ground for US political puppets'. Mohamed Sukri Omar, an official of Parti Islam Se-Malaysia, said the government should take a firm and clear stance against the nomination. "Nick Adams is not just a controversial figure. He openly spreads hatred towards Islam and supports the Zionist colonial regime without consideration," Mr Omar said, according to The Star. He said Mr Adams once pressured a restaurant in the US to fire a waitress simply for wearing a "Free Palestine" pin. "This is an inhumane act that demonstrates extreme and hateful attitudes towards the oppressed Palestinian people's struggle," he said in a statement on Monday. His statement referred to a post of X, where Mr Adams proudly claimed to have gotten a waitress fired for wearing a "Free Palestine" pin. "I won't tolerate being served by those who support terror, I stand with Israel," Mr Adams wrote in the post dated 5 August 2024. Malaysia has openly supported the Palestinian people since Israel launched its war on Gaza in October 2023. Parti Keadilan Rakyat's Youth International Relations Bureau warned that Mr Adams's nomination was being viewed with concern due to his "extremist ideologies and divisive rhetoric", which stood in contrast to the Malaysian government. "Such a rejection should not be misconstrued as hostility but rather seen as a necessary measure to safeguard the integrity of bilateral relations and ensure that diplomatic envoys can contribute constructively, in a manner aligned with the shared aspirations of both nations," the bureau's chief, Arief Izuadin, said. The choice of Mr Adams as America's envoy to Malaysia reflected a lack of respect for and understanding of the nation, said Dr Bridget Welsh, a political analyst specialising in Southeast Asia. "Trump's focus on loyalty and political appointees, rather than professional diplomats or regional expertise, will inevitably undercut US engagement with the region,' she told The Straits Times. Malaysia last week said it planned to 'continue discussions' with the US to reach a 'balanced and mutually beneficial trade agreement" after Mr Trump threatened to impose a 25 per cent tariff on the country from 1 August.
New Straits Times
6 hours ago
- Business
- New Straits Times
Ambalat needs quiet diplomacy, not open debates
The recent pledge by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Indonesia's President Prabowo Subianto to pursue peaceful, mutually beneficial economic cooperation deserves praise for its pragmatic foresight. The pledge in June includes several promising prospects. Among them is a plan to jointly explore and develop the contested oil- and gas-rich Ambalat block in the Celebes Sea, off the eastern coast of Sabah. If this initiative proceeds, it would mark a welcome step away from the longstanding impasse over unresolved maritime boundaries between the two countries. For Malaysia, this peaceful mechanism for managing maritime territorial disputes is neither new nor unprecedented. Among ASEAN members, Malaysia pioneered the approach by signing joint development agreements — first with Thailand in 1979, and later with Vietnam in 1992 — enabling shared exploration and development of hydrocarbon reserves across vast contested areas in the Gulf of Thailand. In the context of international law, this arrangement is consistent with provisions in the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which allow collaborative measures to be implemented while disputing parties seek a final resolution over the contested area. In the case of Ambalat, the intention of both countries to manage the dispute peacefully aligns with the principles embodied in the ASEAN Charter. Certain parties, though, voiced objections to jointly developing Ambalat's oil and gas resources with Indonesia. However, the public uproar also highlights a deeper issue: the misguided notion that the details of delicate negotiations and high-level meetings between leaders or government officials must be made public. Not all diplomatic negotiations are created equal, nor should they be subject to real-time public scrutiny. Some issues, especially those involving maritime territorial and boundary disputes like the Ambalat seabed, are highly technical, legally complex and inherently sensitive. Openly debating these topics risks turning nuanced discussions into populist spectacles. The reality is that maritime boundary delimitation requires expertise in international law, hydrography and history — fields in which few laypersons or politicians are truly knowledgeable. Keeping the negotiation process private, at least to a certain degree, helps prevent misunderstandings or misinterpretations that could inflame tensions or derail delicate talks. Until finalised outcomes are reached, negotiators need private space to discuss sensitive issues, test ideas, make concessions and propose creative solutions without fear of immediate political backlash or public pressure. When talks unfold under the glare of public opinion, even a hint of flexibility is often seized upon as a sign of weakness, pushing parties to retreat into rigid, uncompromising stances. At certain stages, confidentiality in negotiations — even beyond the context of the Ambalat dispute — is essential to protect national interests and security. Prematurely revealing positions can weaken Malaysia's bargaining power and expose strategic vulnerabilities. Once negotiating lines become public, adversaries can exploit them, and domestic critics can pressure leaders or negotiators into rigid stances that leave no room for compromise or manoeuvring. Beyond joint development of economic resources in the disputed maritime areas, are there alternative options to manage or resolve the Ambalat dispute peacefully? Third-party dispute settlement mechanisms are one possibility worth considering. Malaysia has previously referred its maritime sovereignty disputes to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) for adjudication, notably in cases involving the Sipadan and Ligitan islands with Indonesia, as well as Batu Puteh and two maritime features with Singapore. Nonetheless, pursuing this judicial route may not be the preferred option for Indonesia. When the ICJ awarded Sipadan and Ligitan to Malaysia in 2002, the judgment sparked protests in several Indonesian cities. Had every stage of the current Ambalat discussions been made public, nationalist fervour on either side could have derailed progress. Demanding full disclosure of every twist and turn of negotiations is unrealistic and counterproductive. In the case of Ambalat, success depends not only on what leaders decide, but also on society's willingness to trust the process. After decades of stalemate in the Ambalat dispute, we should give diplomacy the space it needs to succeed.
Barnama
6 hours ago
- Politics
- Barnama
Anwar Hints Announcing Special Appreciation For Malaysians
KUALA LUMPUR, July 14 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim today indicated that he will be announcing an extraordinary appreciation for Malaysians in the near future. Even though he did not elaborate what it actually means, Anwar shared a poster that said 'COMING' on his Facebook which quickly caught the attention of netizens. "An Extraordinary Appreciation for Malaysians. With Malaysiaku," the poster reads.
Free Malaysia Today
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
Rafizi, Nik Nazmi skip Pakatan MPs' meeting with Anwar
Rafizi Ramli (left) and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad quit their Cabinet posts after losing the PKR deputy president and vice-president's posts, respectively, in the party elections in May. PETALING JAYA : PKR duo Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad are not attending a meeting between Pakatan Harapan MPs and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. Rafizi was quoted by Malaysiakini as saying he already knew what Anwar would be 'explaining' in the meeting being held at Seri Perdana in Putrajaya. The former PKR deputy president did not disclose the specific issue, which he said had started to court national attention. 'I was privy to the explanation in the past few months, so I would imagine that the prime minister would explain the same thing. Before this, the issue was not national and the explanation was limited to just a few of us. 'I think that is the reason the prime minister prefers to hold a closed door meeting with the MPs rather than addressing it publicly, because he feels there is some sensitive information that I was privy to in previous months, way back before I resigned (as economy minister),' he said. Nik Nazmi said he could not attend the meeting as he is in Singapore for a trip that was organised much earlier. Rafizi and Nik Nazmi had resigned from their Cabinet posts after losing the PKR deputy president and vice-president's posts, respectively, in the party elections in May. PH MPs started arriving at the prime minister's official residence at about 3.45pm, with Anwar expected to explain several 'important issues' and current affairs. Anwar also met Barisan Nasional MPs on Friday night, which he said was to clear the air on several current issues, including taxation, the RON95 petrol subsidy, and matters involving the judiciary.
Free Malaysia Today
7 hours ago
- Politics
- Free Malaysia Today
PM to brief govt MPs on key issues this evening, says Fadhlina
Education minister Fadhlina Sidek (centre) visiting SMK Taman Waiduri to observe the progress of Program Anak Kita, an effort between the finance and education ministries and Yayasan Hasanah. NIBONG TEBAL : Education minister Fadhlina Sidek says the closed-door meeting between the prime minister and MPs later this evening is meant to help government MPs prepare for the upcoming sitting of Parliament. She said the session would involve briefings on major current issues and allow MPs to receive clarity on the government's stand. 'I think it's a very progressive step, with explanations given directly by the prime minister himself,' she told reporters at SMK Taman Widuri here. The next Parliament session begins next week. Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim met Barisan Nasional MPs at Seri Perdana on Friday in a closed-door meeting believed to have focused on current national issues. Key figures present included deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and defence minister Khaled Nordin. No statements were given to the media. Fadhlina was at SMK Taman Waiduri to observe the progress of Program Anak Kita, a tripartite effort by the finance and education ministries and Yayasan Hasanah. It gives academic support to poor students through personal coaching, counselling, and digital tools. In Penang, 460, 2024 SPM candidates under the programme recorded a 99% exam attendance rate, with 93% qualifying for the SPM certificate. The programme also saw over 1,000 students nationwide improve from failing grades, particularly in core subjects like Bahasa Melayu, history and mathematics.
