Malaysia reiterates commitment to foster strong relationships with ASEAN countries

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is committed to fostering strong relationships with its ASEAN neighbours, as it prepares to assume the chairmanship of ASEAN in 2025, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

In an interview with CNBC, he also stressed the need for the ASEAN members to have a constructive engagement and dialogue in addressing regional issues.

“We have small problems (at the) border (with) Thailand, (and) with Singapore we continue to discuss water (issues), but we don’t discuss this as bitter foes.

“We discuss as friends, brothers and one family. I think we can resolve (them). Even if we can’t resolve, it’s not going to cause any sort of distrust, enmity or war.

“We hope to achieve (consensus) when it comes to more contentious issues like the South China Sea,” he said, adding that bilateral, multilateral and ASEAN mechanisms should be used to engage on these matters.

At the same time, he reiterated Malaysia’s commitment to promoting positive relations with all countries, stating its strong ties with the United States and China.

“We have an excellent relationship with the US, it is still the huge investor, cumulatively the largest in Malaysia, and we have seen China enhancing their trade and bilateral investments with Malaysia in the last 15 years. We should use this to ensure that we continue to engage,” he added.