KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has assured that he did not waver from Malaysia’s stance of supporting Gaza when he spoke to United States President Donald Trump.
Anwar said he made full use of his time with Trump when he was in “The Beast”, as Cadillac One, the American leader’s limousine, is also known.
“Trump is a good listener during these private engagements.
“We spent some time discussing Gaza. He (Trump) knew about my past meetings with Hamas leaders in Doha, and I explained why I was there.
“I told him that I strongly urged Hamas to support the peace initiative by Arab neighbours and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation,” he said during his exit press conference at the 47th Asean Summit.
Anwar added that he and Trump shared some views and politely disagreed on others.
“No one can dispute the fact that he (Trump) is quite determined to ensure peace in Gaza. I told him that if he talked about lasting and durable peace, it must be comprehensive,” the Prime Minister added.
According to Anwar, Trump responded by saying that this was just the first phase of his 20-point peace plan to end the ongoing war in Gaza.
“He asked if I knew Steve Witkoff. He said, ‘We are taking it seriously and it must not fail.’,” he added.
Recently, Opposition leaders criticised Trump’s presence in Malaysia due to the ongoing Gaza crisis.
However, Anwar has defended the US leader’s attendance, adding that he did his best in presenting Malaysia’s voice of conscience on the matter to Trump.
“Had Trump not been here (in Malaysia for the summit), there would not be an opportunity to convey our views to him,” he said.
Among other issues discussed between the two leaders were the 19% tariff rate on Malaysian exports to the US.
“I said (the tariff rate of) 19% is still high. I also thanked him for offering tariff exemptions on major exports such as semiconductors for now,” Anwar said.
The Prime Minister said Trump told him many “enlightening” things in private, but noted that the details of these conversations were private and confidential.
“These are private conversations between leaders, and you have to respect that.
“You start leaking phone calls and nobody will want to talk to you,” said Anwar, referring to the controversy which led to Paetongtarn Shinawatra’s removal as Thai premier last month.
Paetongtarn’s sacking came after the Thai Constitutional Court found that she had gravely violated ethical standards in a leaked audio clip of her private conversation with Cambodia’s former premier Hun Sen on the Thai-Cambodian border dispute.
