He said the government’s firm stand, including its stance in protesting against Israeli and US attacks on Iran, had helped strengthen the country’s diplomatic relations, thus allowing Malaysian ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz safely, Bernama reported.
“Do you think it was easy to persuade the Iranian president to let our ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz?
“I’m not saying the previous government was not friendly with Iran, but it’s not like what we have now. We can call (them) repeatedly. We can propose in Parliament to oppose the Israeli and US attacks on Iran.
“How many countries in the world have made statements as strong as Malaysia did on the Iran war? So, give the government some credit. The opposition is not giving (us) credit; (it) thought it was easy,” he said when speaking at the Johor PKR Convention in Johor Bahru today.
Also present were communications minister Fahmi Fadzil, who is also PKR information chief, PKR vice-president R Ramanan and Johor PKR chairman Dr Zaliha Mustafa.
Anwar said he was disappointed that the opposition did not seem to appreciate his efforts all this time.
At the same time, they often played up the issue of his meeting with US president Donald Trump, as well as his riding in the president’s official vehicle, nicknamed “the Beast”.
“It’s true that I negotiated (with Trump) but I did not sacrifice the interests of this country. I negotiated in the ‘the Beast’ with Donald Trump. I will not apologise (for that),” he said.
Anwar said he managed to tell Trump that he had met with Hamas leaders to emphasise the suffering of the Palestinian people, including children who died due to continuous attacks, as well as their confiscated land.
The prime minister said he had also conveyed a similar message to the previous US president, Joe Biden, including criticising what he described as the hypocrisy of the West and the continued oppression and occupation in Gaza.
He said Malaysia is now known as one of the countries that dares to voice a firm stance on global geopolitical issues.
On Johor’s good economic achievements, he said these were largely the result of the support and policies of the federal government.
He said the government had revived the Forest City project and the long-delayed Maharani port. It had also fully supported the Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ).
“I am not denying the role of the Johor state government and their machinery, but this is a matter of policy and facts,” he said.
Johor recorded a total approved investments of RM110 billion last year, making it the highest in the state and country’s history.