Nobel Peace Prize for Malaysia’s Anwar? Not if Trump gets his way

Supporters of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim are calling for him to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize, days after he brokered a ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia, for which US President Donald Trump has also taken the lion’s share of credit.

Anwar hosted the leaders of Cambodia and Thailand for truce talks in Kuala Lumpur on Monday alongside observers from the United States and China. The two Southeast Asian neighbours agreed to a ceasefire in their fight over competing border claims.

But the diplomatic success has sparked a battle for credit. The White House issued a statement hailing Trump’s “decisive leadership” in ending hostilities, with the US president later calling himself the “president of peace” and downplaying Malaysia’s role.

In response, former lawmaker Yusmadi Yusoff, who also penned a memoir on Anwar, launched a petition on Thursday to recognise the Malaysian leader’s “dialogical leadership” that he said was unique and lacking among global leaders.

“As a Muslim democrat and global statesman, Anwar is an unwavering proponent of justice through dialogue, navigating domestic complexity and international diplomacy with moral clarity and restraint,” Yusmadi said.

Yet momentum around the Change.org petition has been slow, garnering close to 250 signatures by noon on Friday.

  

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