PRIME MINISTER Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim criticised the United Nations and the wider multilateral system for their failure to uphold justice and reform, warning that this dysfunction has led to a global trust deficit.
Speaking at the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Plus Summit in on Monday Anwar declared: “There is a deficit of trust in the international system due to our failures in trade, financial architecture and in addressing climate change.”
He said the consequences of these failures are not abstract, but real and deeply felt across the world.
“There is always a gap between what we claim to stand for and the suffering endured by ordinary people. Actions rarely reflect the ideals we profess,” he added.
Anwar criticised the United Nations in particular, stating that it “no longer carries even the aspiration to reform itself”. He warned that “between aspirations and reality lies a shadow—one that has allowed disparity to widen and atrocities to be committed with impunity.”
The Prime Minister was among over 20 heads of state and government attending the two-day summit chaired by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
In his address, Anwar also endorsed Xi’s newly proposed Global Governance Initiative (GGI), which calls for a fairer and more balanced international system.
Xi, in his opening remarks, urged SCO Plus nations to uphold sovereign equality, adhere to international law, practise multilateralism, and prioritise people-centred policies backed by concrete action.
Anwar noted that Malaysia and ASEAN—currently chaired by Malaysia—support these principles, particularly in areas such as economic connectivity, public health, security, and energy transition.
He welcomed the GGI as a timely response to global governance failures and linked its ideals to the *Zhongyong* philosophy in Confucianism, which upholds justice, compassion, humanity, legality, cooperation and sustainable action.
“We share these aspirations. They mean rejecting aggression, the arrogance of power, colonialism, imperialism and the oppression of man by man,” Anwar said.
He also used the platform to denounce ongoing atrocities in Gaza and Palestine, where, he said, “innocent children are murdered with impunity,” noting that neighbouring countries such as Lebanon, Iran and Iraq have also been affected.
Anwar reiterated Malaysia’s strong backing for the GGI, urging that it be pursued “with greater resolve” and calling for courage, clarity, and compassion to shape a peaceful and just global order.
The Prime Minister arrived in Tianjin yesterday for a four-day working visit to China—his fourth since 2023. He is scheduled to meet with President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang in Beijing before attending the Victory Day parade at Tiananmen Square to mark the end of the Second World War. - Sept 2, 2025
