TEKS UCAPAN VERBATIM

 

YAB DATO’ SERI ANWAR BIN IBRAHIM

PERDANA MENTERI

 

 

SEMPENA

 

 

FORUM ILMUWAN MALAYSIA MADANI SIRI 11

 

Topik: Muslim Unity in Times of Geopolitical Crisis

 

 

 

26 APRIL 2026 (AHAD) | 8.00 MALAM

 

KOMPLEKS SERI PERDANA

PUTRAJAYA

 

 

 

 

Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh.

 

Alhamdulillahilladzi anzala ‘ala ‘abdihil kitab walam yaj’al lahuu ‘iwajaa,

Wa usolli wa nussalli ala Rasulihil Karim,

Wa ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma’in.

 

 

YAB Dato’ Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Bin Hamidi,

Deputy Prime Minister;

 

YB Senator Dato’ Seri Diraja Dr. Zambry bin Abd Kadir, Minister of Higher Education;

 

Mr. Necmeddin Bilal Erdoğan,

Deputy Chairman of the Board of Trustees

Ibn Haldun University;

 

YB Senator Dr. Zulkifli bin Hasan,

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religion Affairs);

 

Mr. Sharif Hasan Al-Banna,

Director Islamic Institute for Development and Research (IIDR);

 

 

 

Dr. Khairudin Aljunied,

Associate Professor National University of Singapore;

 

Timbalan Menteri;

 

Some very distinguished guests which I’m not able to greet everybody otherwise we take another 20 minutes.

 

1. Saya mulakan seperti biasa dalam bahasa untuk menyatakan penghargaan dan terima kasih kerana menguruskan acara Forum Ilmuan MADANI ini, dan kali ini bertukar tempat di sini.

 

2. I want to thank Dr. Zambry and Dr. Zulkifli of course Ministry of Religious affairs for coordinating this event.

 

3. But we are honored tonight for some very distinguished not only scholars but also close friends those who believe and share common position, common values, policies and of course led by Necmeddin Bilal Erdogan from Ibn Haldun University and Sharif Hasan Al-Banna a longstanding brother, very committed to the cause. He is present the director of Islamic Institute for Development and Research and of course quite scholar from the University of Singapore but very closely associated with us in the academia in Malaysia Dr Khairudin Aljunied.
4. And I must say that we have in our presence too, Masoud Ozil, you see, the only one who gets the clap and it’s quite interesting because my grandchildren were hounding me, I said, “No, this is strictly a formal function, we have an event,” he said “Tok Papa, at least two minutes, two minutes, one minute. They never requested to see me that way but anyway, there’s life. People as old as me realize now when you grow older that you not given that sort of accorded, the same I should say affection which all grandfathers and mothers would complain.

 

5. Anyway, tonight we’ll of course discuss mainly universal, more complex issues, international relations, geopolitical development and Bilal was whispering to me, “what should we say?” and we had thought that hopefully things would be a bit better. The Muslim world has suffered immensely for decades, now for centuries from the colonial era, post colonial struggle in this region, the Vietnam War, then skirmishes. I mean this, I’m talking about post independence and now of course the calamity, which is intransigence and arrogance of Israel with the support of the United States of America in creating this horrendous problem faced by the world generally, politically, economically, getting more complex every day, and this due to the Israeli aggression, support of America against lastly the Islamic Republic of Iran and of course ramifications due to their continuous aggression into Lebanon and the neighboring countries.

 

6. And still the plan of Gaza and the Palestinian cause should never be forgotten or ignored. I mean, not certainly in modern times you see such plain portrayal of sheer arrogance and atrocities being committed on a daily basis against the people of Gaza, Lebanon and other countries.

 

7. And of course, my generation was much older than Bilal. We grew up during the Vietnam War and we thought that it was the end the extent of atrocities in applicable. You can’t explain. How do you explain such atrocity and we thought it’s always the end no more and then they came. They always tell us that no more after this and that refers to the Holocaust no more, but the same, the so-called victims of the Holocaust are now perpetrating worse atrocities against people and it is played to the whole world.

 

8. So where do we go from there? I don’t have all the answers as I have got the experts with me tonight to try and probably address this issue, but we are fortunate that notwithstanding all this we still have voice of conscience and reason and of course my brother Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is largely popular because of his consistent stance against imperialism and aggression.
9. Not only against Muslim world but also any part of the world. That’s why we in Malaysia are equally concerned about atrocities in Myanmar, of course involve largely Muslims and also non-Muslims but also in the initial conflict between Cambodia and Thailand, although it did not involve Muslims because our foreign policy must be coherent and consistent seeking for peace and getting attempting to try and achieve amicable resolution to such conflicts.

 

10. But for us in Malaysia, I’ve appealed for stronger commitment, national resilience to deal with this potential worsening of the economy due to spiraling course and probably shortage of supply. We are fortunate because for the next few months we are assured of adequate supply of petroleum, we may confront more difficulties in terms of diesel, we are confronted with issues of fertilizer, but notwithstanding we are proud to say alhamdulillah, in a multi-racial, multi religious country Malaysia there is esemblance of unity and this new crave to protect the nation and hopefully work together to resolve.

 

11. I don’t believe that problems are unsurmountable. The least we can expect is of course the national resolve and building up this strong resilience among our people. So with that I would still say that we continue, of course we start with Necmeddin Bilal Erdogan, but before you say that I was telling him this is intellectual discourse began years back after we took over this government and we thought that other than the political leadership, the public service, the private sector, we need also to engage with intellectuals and this is an open forum, no holds barred.

 

12. We have faced some very difficult questions and although he’s the Prime Minister’s official residence, we are not bound to ask any difficult questions not to me, but to the speakers. So with that, I would start by inviting Najmudin Bilal Erdogan to deliver his remarks.

 

 

 

REVIEWS BY YAB PRIME MINISTER

 

1. Presentation by Necmeddin Bilal Erdoğan, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Trustees

 

Thank you Bilal Erdoğan for the remarks. I think the proposition is to ensure that there is more effective collaboration, networking among Muslim universities, colleges, students and I think he is right in his suttle criticism of his dad and me, because we have been great friends, we have worked together you know for decades through, but I think what we need to do is to cement that sort of relationship in concrete terms, building institutional mechanisms to support the efforts and through various other fields.

 

Of course we have done I think the last three years. Much more than what has happened in the past. That includes universities collaboration, research, military collaboration and of course benefiting from each other capabilities. But there is still room for improvement. I would thank you for this criticism I would write a short note to the President to say that the son comes here to complain, but in a good way.

 

So, thank you very much and now I would invite Brother Sharif Al-Banna to give his remarks.

 

1. Presentation by Sharif Hasan Al-Banna, Director Islamic Institute for Development and Research (IIDR)

Shukran Mr. Sharif Hasan Al-Banna. I think the reflection on the fourth pathways, should invite us to another discussion and another intellectual discourse. But of course, you are predicated upon the commitment of Muslim Leaders and you did say that happens to be in a crisis.

 

So, we have to begin somewhere, as Imam Al Ghazali used to say, between Min Huna Nabda to Min Huna Na’lam. So, I think the answer is, of course, in our understanding, our capacity to absorb and comprehend and probably act.

 

But, of course the challenge is more complex because where do we begin? I mean, societies are so fragmented, poor governance in many Muslim countries, blatantly corrupt in many. Therefore, the reform Islah Mastata’tu, that we used to say must begin. I’m not giving an excuse that it cannot be done, but it has to begin.

 

We must have the courage and conviction of leaders with clear, as you say, pathways or clear methodological framework. You have to believe, you have to begin as Muslims with faith and values. That’s why I think in MADANI, whilst we are craving for change, building data centres and talking about AI and digital transformation etc, we cannot foresake the importance to be grounded in values, in akhlaq.

 

I think this is also a very important message that Muslim scholars like you should continue to encourage, you know, greater, wider discourse on the need to improve our governance at the same time to then strengthen the institutions that Bilal referred to, because it is complementary.

 

I’m not suggesting, therefore, until we have good governance everywhere, we will start doing anything, we must strengthen the institutions, we must fortify the collaboration in various fields, trade, investments, education and research, culture and science but at the same time we have to recognise a plain admission that something is blatantly wrong with the Muslim societies, that even the discussion on the concept of Muslim Ummah is unfortunately problematic because the failure to understand and comprehend and to commit to this basic principle of you refer to Wa’tasimu bihablillahi jami’an wala tafarraqu (Surah Ali ‘Imran, 3: Ayat 103)

 

So, I think we need to be aware of our limitations and build resilience before we embark on these pathways. Now, Dr. Khairudin Aljunied, I think, must be from Hadramawt.

 

3. Presentation by Dr. Khairudin Aljunied, Associate Professor, National University of Singapore

 

I think university should also allow him to get some basic microeconomics details, because they should know that the biggest allocation in Malaysia is for education. And this increase, that’s number one.

 

Number two, such suggests that the world’s going down is good, is certainly economic. You’re calling for economic disaster. It goes down, means less allocation for education. You can’t have both ways. You can’t have the economy must go positively comes down. That means resources are limited, and you have to cut, of course, education for Zambry’s ministry. So, I think I must qualify that.

 

But generally, it’s a voice of optimism. Good. I mean, is the voice which also accept that it’s not all gloom and doom, and what is called as Spenglerian pessimism. So now, there is this optimism. But my concern is that, we have to propel the economy forward. That’s a fact.

 

We have problems like present energy crisis. Of course, we have alternative route now, having this energy from Vietnam to north of Malaysia to Singapore, and also from Sarawak, the undersea cable, to Peninsula Malaysia. These are huge projects, of course, and that would provide us what is termed as energy independence.

 

So I think, otherwise, they need to focus on the strategic collaboration on food security, and also to enhance the capability of the Islamic financial system or something laudable. I commend Central Bank, for example, who is giving full support in this enterprise. We had a session last week, I remember, and there are new instruments to be in place to propel again the Islamic financial system.

 

So again, I mean, the issue of voice of optimism. But I think there are also concerns now. I mean, the economic crisis must be acknowledged. I mean, we follow the economic challenges. It is something that is not all, but part of it support beyond us, you know. Business and the economy, of course, have some projection, three years, five years projection. We have to recalibrate the entire priorities because of the uncertainties.

 

The worst thing that we can expect in any economy is uncertainty. That’s why this latest episode of this Israeli-American aggression against Iran, and the ramifications, the region, the Gulf, is causing huge problems.

And as I’ve said, for example, can we contain price increase? Yes, for now. As you know, the price of RON95 in Malaysia is probably the lowest in the world, other than Brunei. Much lower than all oil exporting countries. But can we sustain that in the medium or long term? This, of course, very fundamental question we can. But what is for now, if you use that sort of policy to continue, the government, the public purse, having to subsidise more than RM70 billion per month just to contain the price. Because our concern is the impact on the general welfare of our people, and that’s number one.

 

Number two, diesel, for now, is sufficient. But unlike petrol, which we do produce 50%, and we, of course, manage now the agreements because of Petronas do impressive work can supply in the medium term. But this is a major problem. Prime Minister Albanese of Australia was here. Of course, we work well with Australia because we need the phosphate, and they need our urea. And of course, request for possibility of importing petrol from Malaysia. We said we can only supply if we have access. Right now, we don’t. And, of course, he asked for diesel. I said, diesel, no way, because we will have to deal with the shortage of diesel.

 

So, I mean, I’m talking about huge problems that we need to anticipate in the short and medium term. So, the entire policy focus now is, of course, the economy in a very serious manner. But I concede one point, that countries including Malaysia, must also think ahead. That’s why future studies to me, is very critical and imminent, because it’s not just taking things as they are, but also to anticipate where we can. And in a post-normal world, there are certain issues that we can hardly anticipate, unless you take real measures to understand what future requirements and studies is all about. So, this is my short response to you.

 

I’m sure he’s a great scholar in his own right, and I followed his writings. I’m a bit concerned about the economic, the simplicity of condensing the whole economic framework, which is to me, much more challenging. But it does not stop us from thinking aloud and introducing new mechanism, new instruments, including the bank. As he is of course familiar with the fact that I’m one of those great proponents, with Professor Mohammad Nejatullah Siddiqi, Dr. Monzer Kahf, and Umer Chapra, and Mohammed bin Omar Zubair, promoting. But I’m also the first to be very critical of the way the Islamic banks being operated.

 

And Professor Mohammad Nejatullah Siddiqi, latest I mean just before he died, this article is strong critique of the way Islamic banks are being run, just to replicate what’s being applied in the West. So, he said, if you really truly call it Islamic banks, then you must promote the whole understanding and concept of Islamic economics, and not just Islamic windows to a conventional bank. You Islamize, as long as it is no Riba, it is Islamic. He contended that this is not sufficient, it has to promote that.

 

So, I think this is where scholars like you have to then continue to pursue this. But may I come back to Mr. Necmeddin Bilal Erdoğan for his remarks before we open to the floor.

 

4. Presentation by YB Senator Dr. Zulkifli bin Hasan,

Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Religion Affairs);

 

Terima Kasih. Very realistic, more realistic exposition of what need to be done. I think it’s interesting this forum because once they did focus on some ideals in terms of unity framework, etc but they stress upon a more realistic vision and not in dismay, but to realise that something needs to be done.

 

I mean, you must start somewhere, you take from the position of an ideal framework of course nothing can happen, so it must be a more practical, realistic approach. Of course, if you ask me from our limited experience there are hundreds of measures that can be done internally, domestically and also bilaterally and within the ASEAN context, and of course with some other countries, Muslim countries that we are attempting to do.

 

Now I and Bilal will have to leave now, but so before I leave and the chairmanship will be taken over by the Minister of Higher Education, you still have a bit more time, but I will ask Bilal Erdogan to conclude and then I then leave it to Zahid at the chair because he’s a good boss, he gives responsibility otherwise the Minister of Education sits down do nothing. Want him to work? All right, now we’ll ask for Bilal Erdogan want to say a few words?

 

5. Presentation by Mr. Necmeddin Bilal Erdoğan, Deputy Chairman of the Board of Trustees

 

Good proposal. Give me a week, I will check with the Ministry of Finance about the cost implications. If it is reasonable, can’t be a hundred, we can only start with fifty. You see, that is abusing the Finance Ministry Act (said jokingly). But certainly, we should be done. I mean, at least we are committed with fifty extra students. I mean, not counting, but the numbers being set now. And fifty scholars, exchange professors and academicians. This can be done. Thank you very much.