“What would be Trump’s response? What will he say at the rostrum? People were anxious,” Shamsul told FMT in an interview.
Shamsul said the Oct 26 meeting surprised the public, especially since Anwar was previously mocked as irrelevant for not having received a telephone call from the White House after Trump returned to the presidency.
“Not only Malaysians, but the whole world was surprised at how Trump blended with Anwar. The chemistry between Anwar and Trump was magical,” he said.
Upon arriving at KLIA on Oct 26, Trump, with Anwar beside him, broke into his trademark arm-pumping gestures, as traditional drummers and dancers welcomed him at a red-carpet reception.
Trump then invited Anwar to ride with him in his car, nicknamed The Beast, during which many topics were discussed between the two leaders, said Shamsul.
“This shows that leadership matters. He is pushing a style of leadership that always engages and creates dialogue,” he said.
Shamsul said another noteworthy moment was when Anwar joked with Trump about his own imprisonment, building a rapport that showed Kuala Lumpur and Washington were working together.
“The body language between the two leaders showed that Malaysia and the US were on track. It affirmed that their diplomacy is at the highest level,” he said.
On Sunday, in a light-hearted exchange, Anwar remarked that he and Trump “share a lot in common”.
“One of which is that I was in prison and you almost got there,” he quipped, drawing laughter from those present at the ceremony, held on the sidelines of the 47th Asean Summit and Related Meetings.
Time for MPs to work
Shamsul said MPs now had to monitor all agreements made during Malaysia’s Asean chairmanship this year to ensure they are fully implemented.
He said the various trade deals signed were “important and strategic matters to our country” and should now result in clear policies and progress.
Shamsul also addressed criticism from opposition leaders that Anwar has purportedly spent excessively on trips abroad, saying that his visits to other countries was not “mere travel”.
He said Anwar had been strengthening ties with world leaders from Russia, China, the Middle East and the South-South countries, while brokering the Thailand-Cambodia ceasefire and overseeing humanitarian and peace efforts in Myanmar.
“This is engagement. When you are (the government), you want to ensure people come to this country and bring investment,” he said, adding that Malaysia had also set a high bar for other Asean countries to follow in terms of diplomacy and trade.
On Sunday, Malaysia and the US signed a wide-ranging reciprocal trade deal aimed at strengthening bilateral economic ties, expanding market access and bolstering supply chain resilience.
Under the agreement, Malaysia has committed to providing significant preferential market access for US industrial goods exports, including chemicals, machinery and electrical equipment, metals and passenger vehicles, as well as for agricultural exports such as dairy products, poultry and rice.
The US, meanwhile, will maintain a 19% reciprocal tariff on Malaysian goods, with certain products receiving a 0% tariff rate under a list of aligned partners.
Malaysia will also refrain from banning, or imposing quotas on exports to the US of critical minerals or rare earth elements, and will partner with American firms “to create certainty for businesses to increase production capacity”.