by Ganesh Sahathevan
Demonstrating her father's capacity for thoughtless rhetoric, Nurul Izzah ,Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's daughter , recently attacked Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan for refusing to negotiate a toll agreement with Iran for safe transit through the Strait of Hormuz. Nurul Izzah observed that Singapore's position was evidence of Singapore being a proxy for an external superpower (read the United States) and was not in keeping with ASEAN's neutrality.
That Singapore is being attacked by Malaysia for refusing to negotiate extortion dressed up as "an attempt to seek a durable peace" (Nurul Izzah's words) is not likely to unite ASEAN against Singapore, for it will more likely than not evoke memories of Malaysia's sponsorship of Muslim separatists in Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines over many decades.That was not different from Iran's sponsorship of HAMAS and Hezbollah.
Given that history and given Anwar Ibrahim's defiant support of HAMAS ,Nurul Izzah's verbal volleys against Singapore in support of Iran are more likely than not to cause concern amongst its neighbours..
TO BE READ WITH
PETALING JAYA: Remarks by Singapore Foreign Minister Vivian Balakrishnan on the republic's refusal to engage in negotiations with Iran concerning safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz are both revealing and regrettable, says Nurul Izzah Anwar.
The PKR deputy president said the stand reflects a narrow strategic posture that prioritises alignment over regional responsibility and international law.
"Iran's controls on the straits are an attempt to seek a durable peace. Malaysia has consistently upheld the principle that diplomacy must be exercised, not abandoned.
"Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s engagement on this matter is rooted in safeguarding regional stability, energy security, and the broader interests of Southeast Asia.
"To suggest otherwise, even implicitly, is to dismiss the very tools that have long preserved peace in our region," she said in a statement on Wednesday (April 8).
Nurul Izzah said it is difficult to ignore the undertones in Balakrishnan’s position.
"His posture appears less about neutrality and more about echoing the strategic preferences of external powers, whose interests do not always align with those of our region."Balakrishnan is entitled to his position. But he should also recognise that quiet acquiescence to great power narratives and genocidal entities is not the same as principled neutrality," she said.
She added that such alignment risks eroding Asean's long-held commitment to independent, balanced diplomacy.
Nurul Izzah said Malaysia will continue to pursue diplomacy with clarity, conviction, and independence.
"We choose dialogue because history has shown that disengagement invites escalation, not stability.
"We choose to act because leadership demands more than cautious distance," she said.
On Tuesday (April 7), Balakrishnan said Singapore will not negotiate with Iran for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz as a matter of principle.
He said doing so would implicitly erode the legal principle of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (Unclos), to which Singapore is a signatory.
He added that Singapore also takes the position that the right of transit passage is part of customary international law.
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