Malaysia Rejects Building Up Defence Power To Attack Countries, Will Not Take Sides

VLADIVOSTOK, Russia, Sept 6 (SPUTNIK) – Malaysia does not support any build-up of defence power to attack countries, Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said in an interview with RIA Novosti and RT, reported Sputnik.

“But you asked me our position is for peace and therefore we do not support any sort of enhancement of defence and armaments to attack any country,” Anwar said on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum (EEF), commenting on the use of weapons supplied by the West against Russia.

No Interest In Siding With West Against Russia 

It is not in Malaysia’s interest to side with the West and be against Russia as the country maintains good relations with all parties,

Commenting on why Malaysia is not choosing sides, Anwar said his country does not want to complicate the issue further.

“I mean, so our intention, our position is of course to find a … resolution, not to take a side of the West against Russia. What benefit is this for us? Like the United States vis-a-vis China, we maintain good relations with both. Why compel us to take sides? Well, they create these potential problems because it is a different system,”

Malaysia cannot be forced to choose sides amid US-China rising tensions

Malaysia is also concerned about rising tensions between the US and China but cannot be forced to choose sides, the Prime Minister said when asked about US-China tensions.

“Yes, there is concern because of this heightening tension between the United States and China, but we cannot be forced to take sides. We are an important partner in terms of trade and investments with the United States, cumulatively still number one. But China is an important player. So we engage more than ever before in all fields in a comprehensive manner,” he said further.

BRICS Important Tool To Reduce Dependence On Dollar

BRICS is an important tool for reducing the dependence of countries on the dollar, said Anwar.

“The issue of using local currencies, which we have done in the past with China, with Indonesia, to an extent with Thailand, we are talking to India. We are still quite dependent on the dollar, but at least to reduce the impact, we need to do that. And BRICS is of course another vehicle to do that,”

Established in 2009, BRICS initially comprised Brazil, Russia, India, and China. South Africa joined in 2010, and Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates joined as new members in January this year.

The Eastern Economic Forum began on Tuesday and will run through Friday. It is being hosted by the Far Eastern Federal University in Russia’s Pacific coast city of Vladivostok. Sputnik is the general information partner of the EEF 2024.

– SPUTNIK