ALOR SETAR, April 17 — Kedah PKR has defended the federal government’s diplomatic manoeuvres, slamming criticisms made by a state executive councillor during the State Legislative Assembly today as being out of touch with global realities.
Kedah PKR communications director Tunku Nashrul Abaidah said the arguments raised by State Industry and Investment, Higher Education, and Science, Technology, and Innovation Committee chairman Dr Haim Hilman Abdullah failed to account for a modern geopolitical landscape defined by rapid and interconnected crises.
He said in such situations, effective statecraft demanded direct, immediate communication between leaders, moving beyond reliance on formal summits.
“For instance, Prime Minister (Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim) personally received a call from the Prime Minister of Pakistan before the latter emerged as a mediator in US-Iran negotiations. This proves that diplomacy today is agile and no longer restricted by rigid formal frameworks,” he said in a statement yesterday.
Tunku Nashrul added that direct person-to-person communication between world leaders is not out of the ordinary, instead it is now a necessity for coordinating swift responses and de-escalating regional tensions.
Tunku Nashrul further dismissed Haim Hilman’s assertion that such high-level phone calls were merely “ordinary diplomacy,” describing the claim as a shallow argument.
He pointed out that while hundreds of vessels from various nations remain stranded in global shipping lanes due to ongoing crises, Malaysia was among the first to navigate the passage successfully through strategic diplomatic engagement.
“This is clear evidence of the ‘Malaysia Madani’ diplomacy in action, which prioritises national security and interests above all else.
“One should not belittle or trivialise these diplomatic efforts for the sake of narrow political mileage, particularly when the outcomes have a direct impact on security and the people’s interest,” he said. — Bernama
