Anwar Turns Malaysia Into Stage for Dealmaking With Trump’s Help

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While critics accuse the 78-year-old of watering down anti-graft pledges and cutting deals with entrenched elites to secure his majority, Anwar has steadily tightened his grip on power, bringing a measure of political stability after decades of revolving-door governments and coalition infighting.

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For years, Malaysia was seen as one of the more stable and less corrupt countries in Southeast Asia, until the eruption of the multibillion-dollar 1MDB corruption scandal. The fallout led to the defeat of then-prime minister, who was later jailed, and the fall of a coalition that had ruled since independence.

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A succession of short-lived administrations followed, raising doubts about the government’s policies and scaring off some investors. Then in 2022, Anwar, who first rose to prominence as a pro-market finance minister back in the 1990s before being jailed under what he derided as concocted charges, completed a dramatic comeback by becoming premier.

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Anwar, who is also finance minister, has both managed a difficult year as chair of Asean and helped Malaysia’s economy thrive despite Trump’s tariffs. Along the way, he earned the reputation of being a strong leader in Southeast Asia, Adib Zalkapli, founder of the geopolitical consultancy Viewfinder Global Affairs, said.

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“In international politics it’s important to be seen as a neutral ground and an honest broker,” Adib said of Anwar.

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The question is whether Malaysia can rise to the ranks of Singapore and Qatar, seen as trusted venues for statecraft. 

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Tensions still simmered in Kuala Lumpur. Carney offered a terse response to Trump’s promise to further hike tariffs on Canadian goods. In his opening remarks to the summit, Carney pointed to his goal of diversifying Canada’s trade away from the US, and citing his government’s quest for a free trade deal with the Asean bloc as a prime example.

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Anwar has also had to walk a fine line between speaking up for Palestine and not offending the US, Israel’s closest ally. There have been frequent protests against the war in Gaza and he faced pressure from Malaysia’s Muslim-majority population to rescind his invitation to Trump, even as the US leader helped broker a ceasefire in the conflict. Protesters gathered at the historic Merdeka Square about five miles away from the Asean gathering on Sunday.

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The issue failed to disrupt the meeting, and Anwar and Trump agreed to elevate their two countries’ relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. Anwar did criticize the situation in Gaza — only once Trump was on a plane to Japan.

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Still, even in his wilderness years, Anwar showed a knack for maintaining important connections, including former US Vice President Al Gore and former US Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz. And since coming to power almost three years ago, his frequent travels — from Washington to Rio de Janeiro and Beijing — have built connections with a diverse array of leaders. 

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He also appears to have deftly handled Trump, whose history of summitry includes undercutting the Group of Seven and criticizing the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

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“Diplomats and trade negotiators often lament that dealing with the US is no longer grounded in clear, rules-based frameworks,” said Azizul Amiludin, a senior non-resident fellow at the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research. “Anwar demonstrated that in the absence of such rules, interpersonal skill and political intuition can be the most effective tools of diplomacy.”

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Anwar’s own journey — from political prisoner to prime minister — has probably added moral weight to his diplomacy, even as his government has been criticized for apparently seeking revenge on his old enemies. During his years behind bars on charges he said were politically motivated, he read the bible “every other day” besides the Quran. One of the books he said sustained him was Nelson Mandela’s autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom.

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The Malaysian premier on Sunday quipped during the signing of the Thailand-Cambodia peace accord that he and Trump “shared a lot in common,” including the fact that the Malaysian leader had been to prison, and the other “almost got there.”

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“You need somebody that can actually build relationships,” said Amirul Feisal Wan Zahir, the managing director of Malaysian sovereign wealth fund Khazanah Nasional Bhd. “There aren’t that many in this world, so we’re very, very proud of him.”

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—With assistance from Ramsey Al-Rikabi.

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