UK LEADERSHIP CHANGE UNLIKELY TO AFFECT MALAYSIA-UK FOREIGN POLICY, SAYS GEOSTRATEGIST

By Rohani Mohd Ibrahim

KUALA LUMPUR, July 5 (Bernama) -- The change in leadership of the United Kingdom (UK) is not expected to affect the country's foreign policy in relation to Malaysia, said geostrategist Prof Dr. Azmi Hassan.

In a phone interview with Bernama, he said that this expectation is based on the fact that there have been no sudden economic or geopolitical issues between London and Kuala Lumpur thus far.

"Except on the issue of Palestine, if we look at it, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak previously did not want to recognise an independent Palestine, whereas Labour Party leader Keir Starmer has said he would recognise Palestine. However, it is not known when this recognition will happen," he said.

According to Azmi, considering that the Palestine issue is very close to Malaysia, it is possible that a UK more friendly to Palestine could be seen in the future.

 Regarding the tripartite defence agreement between Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, or AUKUS, which is said to potentially disrupt stability in the Indo-Pacific including the ASEAN region, Starmer has said there will be no changes in the agreement.

This means the UK will continue to cooperate in foreign relations between London and Kuala Lumpur, he said.

Earlier today, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim congratulated Starmer and the British Labour Party on their significant victory in the United Kingdom General Election.

Anwar, who is also the Minister of Finance, said he hopes to work with Starmer and his team to develop new strategic relations built on inclusivity, equality, mutual respect, people-to-people ties, and a shared vision for the future.

The Prime Minister described the partnership between Malaysia and Britain so far as enduring, formed through a long history and strengthened by close fraternal ties.

According to Xinhua News Agency, the Labour Party led by Starmer has won an outright majority in the House of Commons of the British Parliament, based on seat counts by Sky News.

With results for 467 of the 650 parliamentary seats announced, the Labour Party won 326 seats, Sky News reported early Friday, as cited by the news agency.

Starmer in a video posted on his Facebook following his victory said: “We have earned the mandate to relight the fire. That is the purpose of this (Labour) party and of this government. 

“Today we start the next chapter, begin the work of change, the mission of national renewal and start to rebuild our country,” he added.

-- BERNAMA