Wrong to allege Anwar not given proper acknowledgement during Saudi visit - analysts
27 Mar 2023 02:04pm
Anwar Ibrahim : Photo taken from Anwar's Facebook
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One of them, Dr Mazlan Ali, senior lecturer of Perdana Centre, Razak Technology and Informatics Faculty at Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), said that most importantly the prime minister had made the three-day visit at the invitation of the highest leadership of Saudi Arabia.
"If critics allege that King Salman and the Crown Prince seemed not to have welcomed Anwar, why then did Anwar get the invitation? And that visit received the full commitment of the Saudi Arabian conglomerates.
"This shows that although there was no audience with the Saudi Arabian King and Crown Prince, it did not mean that there was no proper acknowledgement of Anwar. It was just that circumstances did not allow the audience to take place," he told Bernama.
He said it was not out of the ordinary for King Salman, the Custodian of Islam’s Two Holy Sites, to change his schedule, especially in the month of Ramadan.
The prime minister himself had explained that he had been asked to extend his stay in Saudi Arabia but could not meet the request because of his prior commitments in Malaysia and tight schedule.
"It is normal for the Saudi monarch to make changes to His Majesty’s schedule during Ramadan. And they (Saudi Arabian leaders) had asked the prime minister to extend his visit by two days. But the prime minister could not do so because he had to attend an event (breaking of fast) with the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and was scheduled to make a visit to Cambodia,” he said.
Prof Dr Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani of Universiti Utara Malaysia’s School of Politics and International Relations shared Dr Mazlan’s view, saying last-minute changes to the itinerary of a visit were normal, especially if the host country had to attend to more urgent matters.
Furthermore, Anwar’s three-day visit was relatively short, he said.
"It is not unusual if there were circumstances or emergencies forcing a change in schedule at the last minute,” he added. - BERNAMA
