Prime Minister Anwar Read President Trump Brilliantly

 Prime Minister Anwar Read President Trump Brilliantly!

M. Bakri Musa

November 2, 2025 

Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim read President Trump brilliantly at their recent meeting in Kuala Lumpur for the ASEAN leaders’ summit. This was the first time the two had met.

            Anwar welcomed Trump the old fashion way, through the time-tested exquisite mixing of personal humility as well as the right dose of self-deprecating humor. He delivered both with impeccable timing and in a very public setting. Who could forget Anwar smiling as he turned to Trump and said with a twinkling in his eyes that while he (Trump) nearly got into jail, he (Anwar) had actually been in one, and for a very long time! 

That was less a subtle dig at Trump’s earlier mounting legal problems, more for local consumption. It was a crafty reminder of that less-than-savory character who had incarcerated Anwar. That old rogue, still mischievous though now more laughable than effective, is former Prime Minister Mahathir.

            Theater aside, Anwar did many things right in his welcome of President Trump. More precisely is what Anwar did not do. Unlike so many other leaders, Anwar did not lecture the leader of the most advanced and powerful nation. Anwar’s decorum towards Trump was appropriately deferential and in the best tradition of lembut (softness or subtlety) of our Malay culture. That is, knowing not only the right thing to say but also the place, manner, and circumstance (tempat, cara, dan gaya). 

            Anwar’s smooth subtlety began right after Trump disembarked from Air Force One. Instead of the usual stiff and proper military parade, Anwar opted for the artistic route of a traditional Malay dance. In a clear demonstration that the beauty of art transcends culture and personality, Trump got right away into the swing of things, swaying his far-from-athletic trunk while animatedly swinging his arms to the rhythm of the drum beat, much to the delight of the performers and host, as well as spectators.

            If, as per the Mexican-American educator Cesar A. Cruz, poetry is “to comfort the disturbed, and to disturb the comfortable,” so is art generally. Trump has much that is disturbing him, from the impending release of the infamous Epstein Papers to the ongoing defunding of the Federal government.

            Trump was obviously smitten with the hospitality of his host, more so when Anwar heaped tribute on Trump for being instrumental with the peace treaty between the two ASEAN members, Thailand and Cambodia. Regardless who gets the credit, peace is good for everyone as well as the environment. Anwar also used that opportunity to implore Trump to push even harder for peace in Gaza. I am certain that Trump was stirred and inspired to do more than by all the flotilla and street demonstrations at home or abroad could.

            As Utusan On-line crisply noted, “Pertahan rakyat Palestin bukan di jalanan, tapi di meja rundingan.” (Defending the citizens of Palestine is not on the roadways but at the conference table!)

Meetings between US Presidents and Malaysian Prime Ministers are rare. At the last one in 2017 during Trump’s first term, a brazen Najib Razak had the chutzpah to offer America financial help! Trump and his fellow billionaire cabinet members were too polite not to scoff at that. 

Earlier there was the infamous Christmas golf outing in Hawaii between President Barack Obama and Najib, just months after Obama’s own Attorney-General Loretta Lynch filed a massive civil forfeiture suit to claim the plundering of 1MDB assets by Najib (identified as Malaysian Official No:1), his son, and cronies including the infamous Jho Low. 

In a visit to Malaysia after leaving office, Obama, who while in office frequently blasted corrupt leaders, had difficulty explaining his earlier chummy treatment of that roque Najib.

There were some hilarious moments during this ASEAN gathering. One was the AI-generated video that went viral showing PAS leader Hadi in the limousine with Trump. Another, the brouhaha over Anwar’s warm embrace in greeting some female delegates. That triggered apoplexy among the Islamists. 

Those trivialities aside, the other significant achievement was the removal of tariffs on Malaysia’s main commodity exports. That of course was negotiated long and hard before the meeting. For strident critics of that trade deal, remember that America is Malaysia’s major trading partner. In business, when your best customer says “Jump!” you respond, “How high!”