By Mei Mei Chu
KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) – Malaysia’s foreign minister on Saturday emphasized that his country remains independent in foreign policy after some social media users and opposition politicians criticized him for referring to his Chinese counterpart as his “older brother” “.
Hishammuddin Hussein, on his first visit to China as foreign minister, expressed hope that he and Chinese state adviser Wang Yi will seek closer ties between nations, including post-COVID-19 cooperation and fighting the pandemic.
However, he sparked controversy at home when he told his counterpart at a news conference on Thursday: “You will always be my big brother.”
China is Malaysia’s largest trading partner, but relations between the two countries have been tested in recent years by Beijing’s increasingly assertive foreign policy in the region, particularly its maritime claims in the resource-rich South China Sea, some of which conflict with Malaysia’s own claims.
Some Malaysians turned to social media to berate Hishammuddin, saying he appeared to be appeasing the global superpower, while opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim demanded that the minister withdraw his comment and issue an apology to the country.
“This is not the language and style that should be used in the world of diplomacy and international relations because it seems to put Malaysia as a foreign puppet,” he said on Saturday.
“As a neutral country and not in favor of any major power in the world, its declaration is clearly a form of insult to our own country,” said Anwar.
After the criticism, Hishammuddin said on Twitter that he had said “older brother” to show respect for Wang Yi, and that the words did not refer to Malaysia’s relationship with China.
He said he has “respected the fact that Wang Yi is older and a more senior foreign minister; therefore, ‘big brother’ to me personally.”
“Being respectful does not mean weakness,” he added.
“Make sure that Malaysia remains independent, principled and pragmatic in terms of our foreign policy – based on the values of peace, humanity, justice and equality.”
(Reporting by Mei Mei Chu and Rozanna Latiff; Editing by Pravin Char)