Region Needs Bridge-Building Voices Amid Global Tensions - Nurul Izzah

KUALA LUMPUR, April 8 (Bernama) -- The South East Asian region needs voices that build bridges rather than deepen divides amid heightened global tensions, says PKR deputy president Nurul Izzah Anwar.

According to her, Malaysia would continue to pursue diplomacy with clarity, conviction and independence, stressing that engagement was essential to safeguarding regional stability, energy security and the broader interests of Southeast Asia.

She said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s engagement on the matter was rooted in safeguarding regional stability, energy security and the wider interests of the region, adding that to suggest otherwise would undermine the very tools that had long preserved peace in Southeast Asia.

“Malaysia has consistently upheld the principle that diplomacy must be exercised, not abandoned. Malaysia will not be lectured on the merits of engagement. We choose dialogue because history has shown that disengagement invites escalation, not stability,” she said in a statement today, responding to remarks by Singaporean Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan's rejection of negotiations with Iran on the safe passage of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.

-- BERNAMA