Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim will highlight bilateral ties and Uyghur rights during his visit to China

As democratic icon Anwar Ibrahim inches closer to his promised position as prime minister by 2020, Malaysia’s largest trading partner has begun testing the waters to see whether the incumbent leader will proceed Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad’s occasionally hostile approach.

In a recent interview, Anwar told Nikkei that he’ll meet with officials during his trip to China next week to debate Malaysia’s rule of law and the longer term of China-Malaysia relations.

“They want to know from me what the future will be like,” Anwar said Nikkei Asian Reviewadding that it might emphasize the necessity for strong bilateral relations.

Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim insists there is no such thing as a timetable for taking on power after his official return to politics

He also urged Beijing to acknowledge the rights of the Uyghur Muslim community, specifically their right to freedom of faith and movement, and said that any type of violence – whether from the state or society – can’t be tolerated.

“Beijing wants to know whether Anwar will pursue a different policy from Mahathir,” said James Chin, director of the Asia Institute on the University of Tasmania. “Anwar will have to take a less decisive stance than Mahathir, given the latter’s position as Asia’s oldest statesman. Anwar has less political influence, but by the time Anwar takes power, the problems we see today, such as the cancellation of Chinese projects, will be old news, so Anwar will have less to worry about.”

Ngeow Chow Bing of the Institute of China Studies on the University of Malaya said Beijing wouldn’t be without surprises because “there will probably be more continuity than significant changes in Malaysia’s China policy.”

“There is a perception that Anwar is more pro-American, but that does not necessarily mean he’ll lean toward the West and be more indifferent toward China,” he said. “He will support Mahathir at this time.”

Malaysia’s Anwar Ibrahim is open to dissent, but not in relation to when he’ll replace Mahathir Mohamad

“Malaysia has all the time supported the Uyghurs and needs Beijing to acknowledge the rights of Muslims in China, but there is no such thing as a query of an independence movement,” Chin said.

Ngeow echoed this, saying that as a frontrunner “respected by the Muslim public, [Anwar] is worried concerning the developments in Xinjiang. But I feel he’s willing to listen and understand, not only to criticize China.”

An essential element of domestic policy in a Muslim-majority ASEAN country is that leaders, each incumbent and current, should be seen as protecting the rights of Muslims around the globe. According to economist Woo Wing Thye of the Malaysian Jeffrey Cheah Institute for Southeast Asia, Malaysian leaders also criticized Myanmar for the Rohingya genocide, much to Naypyidaw’s dismay and despite Malaysia’s refugee-unfriendly policies.

China participates too heavily in Malaysia’s trade relations for the nation to run the chance of upsetting Beijing, and current don Mahathir’s general principle is that Malaysia doesn’t need to be a client state of the United States.

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This position was made clear in recent statements by Malaysia’s Chief Trade Negotiator, Norazman Ayob, who stressed the importance of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, stating that it’s a top priority and that the US-China standoff has provided the impetus for its early conclusion.

“Malaysia will not want to choose sides in a great power confrontation unless one side is actively involved in trying to overthrow the government,” Woo said. “Anwar will be no different from Mahathir or Abdul Razak [the former prime minister who established Malaysia-China diplomatic relations] “China is too important to be inadvertently offended.”