‘Telephone Prime Minister’? Anwar says it helped ease regional tensions

THE Prime Minister has expressed disappointment over some opposition bloc leaders who made fun of the government's efforts to contact world leaders to help resolve conflicts at the regional and global levels.

Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim also questioned the act of belittling and mocking him by calling him the 'Telephone Prime Minister', reported Harian Metro.

He said the effort that was considered 'small' succeeded in among other things, to help reconcile the conflict involving Cambodia and Thailand.

"These MPs mocked me by calling me the ‘Telephone Prime Minister’, when in fact it was with the telephone that helped reconcile Cambodia and Thailand.

"With that phone, we joined in efforts of others, doing our own little bit together," he said.

He said this when speaking at the Closing Ceremony of the Madani Rakyat Program at Merlimau Polytechnic, Melaka, today.

According to Anwar, he was also contacted by the Qatari government to  bring together the defence ministers of Afghanistan and Pakistan in pursuit of peace.

“Since we have good relations with both Pakistan and Afghanistan, we were asked to emphasise and urge the two countries to find a peaceful resolution, which is currently being discussed in Doha, Qatar.

“That’s what we’ve been doing - reaching out to these three countries because we were asked to, even though we’re a small nation. But, Alhamdulillah, we were given that honour,” he said.

Anwar added that Malaysia’s role was limited to diplomatic persuasion and not any financial contributions.

“What’s wrong with that? We’re not sending hundreds of millions of ringgit - we’re only speaking, urging them to work together for peace. And, they are still negotiating today,” he said.

He expressed hope that relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan would be restored, noting that war only brings hardship and suffering to their people.

Anwar also hit out at a few politicians described as behaving badly for not taking into account the hardships and appreciating the efforts from enforcement officers to save the country's money from corruption scandals and leakages. – October 19, 2025