VERBATIM TEXT

OPENING REMARKS

 

BY

 

THE PRIME MINISTER YAB DATO’ SERI ANWAR IBRAHIM

 

AT

 

FORUM ILMUWAN MALAYSIA MADANI (FIM) SIRI 9

Strategies for Malaysia and ASEAN in an Era of Global Instability

 

13 MARCH 2026 (MONDAY) | 3.45 PM

DEWAN ZAABA, KPT
PUTRAJAYA

 

 

Assalamualaikum Warahmatullahi Wabarakatuh, Salam Sejahtera.

 

Nahmaduhu wa nussalli ala Rasulihil Karim,

Wa ala alihi wa sahbihi ajma’in.

 

Rakan-rakan Menteri, termasuk Menteri Luar dan Menteri Pendidikan Tinggi;

 

Prof. Jeffrey D. Sachs,

President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network;

 

Tetamu-tetamu yang saya muliakan.

 

1. Kita teruskan dengan tradisi wacana ilmu, dalam Forum Ilmuan MADANI ini untuk memastikan negara terus berakar kepada tradisi ilmu yang lebih mantap. Dan oleh itu, saya ucap terima kasih kepada Menteri Pendidikan Tinggi kerana menjadi tuan rumah pada hari ini tanpa teh dan makan minum.

 

2. I said this is an exception. It’s Ramadan so this is very cheap for the Minister of Education. No tea (joking).

 

3. Sachs, let me begin by expressing my profound regard gratitude to you. We have followed your discourses, your courage and tenacity dealing with some very controversial issues with courage and conviction and therefore on behalf of the Malaysian government, of course it is a rare pleasure to welcome such an outstanding scholar of such a pewt.

 

4. But may I also thank Professor Jeff of Sunway, who has given us this opportunity at his cost. His passion for education and scholarship is unrivaled, and I must therefore thank on behalf of our colleagues here.

 

Distinguished scholars, guests, ladies and gentlemen,

 

5. We meet today in the midst of a war foisted on a sovereign state of Iran and its people, driven by the hegemonic ambitions of Israel in West Asia, and principally aided and abetted by the formidable war machine of the United States of America.

 

6. Targeted killings of spiritual, political, and military leaders are executed with surgical precision while missile attacks massacre school children as they go about their lessons. As the statistics of the dead continue to pile up, not just in Iran but elsewhere, as in the Gaza and Lebanon, cities of rich historical heritage are indiscriminately bombed while key water and energy installations are blown out of existence.

 

7. This tragedy can never be fully measured in cold numbers because the death and destruction are in fact the manifestation of a more profound geopolitical reality. And it is a deep seated, heinous, and insatiable desire to annihilate, to dominate, and to conquer at all cost.

 

8. In as much as history reminds us that instability in this region rarely remains confined within its borders, the escalation of this war has already sparked massive disruptions in global energy markets. I just presided an emergency meeting of the Economic Advisory Council and we of course have to deliberate some key issues because the war has its ramifications throughout the world and affecting us here in Malaysia. So, it’s far reaching geopolitical and geoeconomic consequences for the entire world: Fractured communities, weakened institutions, and the erosion of trust.

 

9. In this regard, Malaysia, as underscored by the bipartisan stand of our Parliament, has taken a principled position to condemn this the Israeli aggression and the United States as perpetrators in this aggression against an independent sovereign country, the Islamic Republic of Iran. And at the same time call for restraint this escalation and renewed diplomatic engagement across the region. Yet, the situation remains deeply alarming as countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council, Turkey, Azerbaijan, face repeated attacks with the violence affecting countries face repeated attacks with the violence affecting even countries as far as Jordan, Turkey and Azerbaijan.

 

10. As I alluded to earlier, if international law is to retain its credibility, it must apply equally to all principles, lose their authority when they are invoked selectively. These inconsistencies undermine confidence in the very foundations of the international system.

 

Ladies and gentlemen,

 

11. After the First World War, John Maynard Keynes published The Economic Consequences of the Peace, I think Professor Sachs have learned it by heart, purportedly advocating for the economic well- being of the world. Today, staring us in the face are the economic consequences of the war that extend far beyond the killing fields. War disrupts production, damages infrastructure, and diverts national resources toward military expenditure rather than development. These pressures translate into higher energy prices, rising inflation, greater fiscal strain, and ultimately, hardship, misery for the majority of our people.

 

12. This afternoon’s discussion is particularly significant as we are joined by Professor Jeffrey Sachs, one of the world’s most distinguished economists and public policy thinkers. I underline public policy because I know him more as a public intellectual. Voice of conscience, courage of conviction and tenacity of purpose.

 

13. Professor Sachs for decades has worked at the intersection of economics, development and global governance.

 

14. At a time when the world faces interconnected challenges, voices such as yours Professor Sachs remind us that many of the problems confronting humanity cannot be addressed by nations acting alone. They require cooperation, imagination and sustained commitment. The endurance of the international order will ultimately depend not only on institutions or agreements, but on whether nations remain willing to uphold the principles that that give those structures meaning.

 

15. The bard reminds us that the evil that men do lives after them. The good is oft interred in the bones. Let us not suffer this same fate. I earnestly believe that if the international community is to rebuild trust in the global system, it must demonstrate that the protection of human dignity is not conditional and that justice is not a bargaining chip to be parlayed for strategic gain.

 

16. Justice must be the very lifeblood of humanity, of our humanity, regardless of color, creed or nationality. Malaysia, insya-Allah, will continue to stand firmly for these principles.

 

17. I look forward to a thoughtful and enriching exchange with Professor Jeffrey Sachs, with all of you.

 

Terima kasih.