From The Sydney Morning Herald, KUALA LUMPUR, July 10
Referring back to this whole issue of Mr. Kevin Rudd’s first visit to Malaysia as Prime Minister of Australia and his initial wish to meet Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim as leader of Pakatan Rakyat, this initial meet was solicited not by Parti KeADILan Rakyat and definitely not my office but in actual fact from the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). Hence, the sudden turn around of events, which in itself has been blown out-of-proportion bares the fact that some quarters are definitely on the hot seat suffering from insecurity, credibility and leadership crisis. The notion that by having tea with the Pakatan leader, it can jeopardize Australia-Malaysia’s cordial relationship which amounts to A$3.2 billion a year in trade is simply quite amazing.
At a time when the world is becoming more borderless, we are embracing globalisation and encouraging engagements with all parties and ideologies. As we realize that the way forward for Malaysia as a member of the global society is inclusivity, it is discouraging to see that our leaders are vociferously practicing exclusivity and extreme protectionism. Malaysia is not merely governed by one political party, what more a person. We can see this clearly with the existence of five states being lead by Pakatan Rakyat amounting to 65% of the country’s wealth. Hence, we are just as much a main stakeholder in charting the developmental progress of this country. We definitely would be a gracious host if Mr. Rudd or any world leaders would like to see Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim or any PKR or Pakatan Rakyat leader for that matter. We believe in engagement as more communication will lead to solving more problems and build bridges. It doesn’t matter whether they are from Australia, Middle East, Africa, Europe or the US, humanity must triumph.
However, we do understand the intricacies of public diplomacy and that Mr. Rudd has to give face to Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi but it is unfortunate for all. Nevertheless, come September 16, we will gladly accord them the proper decorum and if he wishes to pay a courtesy call to future Opposition leader – Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi or Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, we would be more than happy to assist.
