KUALA LUMPUR, April 7 — Malaysia’s ability to maintain national unity despite its diverse and complex social landscape is a sign of the country’s maturity, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
He said that as a multiracial and multicultural nation influenced by the Malay, Indian and Chinese cultures, as well as Western civilisations, navigating such a landscape is inherently more complicated than in other nations.
While racial tensions have surfaced from time to time, he said, the vast majority of Malaysians continue to uphold a unique level of religious tolerance.
“I am proud to say that in Malaysia, generally, the vast majority of people acknowledge the fact that while Islam is the religion of the Federation, the religious tolerance is, to me, unprivileged,” he said during the Q&A session at the Kuala Lumpur-Ankara Dialogue 2026 here today.
Anwar said Malaysia is home to some of the largest ethnic Chinese and Indian minorities, alongside various indigenous tribes, and that managing such diversity requires a combination of patience and maturity.
Admitting that the government cannot satisfy every demand or complaint seen in the media, he said the administration remains focused on maintaining core stability and clarity in its policies.
“To my mind, the focus should be stability. We have to continue to educate and learn from this. The level of conscientisation, to understand that without that stability, key stability, the risk is there,” he said.
Anwar also noted that stability is the essential foundation for pushing ahead with economic development, new technology and the democratisation of access to education.
Addressing the presence of fringe voices, he acknowledged that there are small pockets of extremist demands ranging from Malay supremacy and Islamic dominance to extremist views from Christian and Hindu groups.
However, he expressed confidence that the general population in Peninsular Malaysia, as well as in Sabah and Sarawak, prefers a sane and balanced approach to nationhood.
“Among the Malays, Chinese, Indians, the Sarawakians and Sabahans, generally, people do ignore the fact that for this country to survive and manage, we have to be sane and understand that we cannot satisfy everyone,” he said.
Anwar added that while he is not suggesting Malaysia is a perfect model for others to follow, the country’s ability to remain united amidst global economic crises and internal pressures has remained its greatest strength.
Organised by ISIS Malaysia and SETA Foundation, the inaugural Kuala Lumpur-Ankara Dialogue gathers policy visionaries and movers who are keen observers and shapers of Ankara and Putrajaya’s six-decade partnership and how their mutual interests impact geopolitics and geoeconomics in their regions.
The event aims to set the tone and standard for open and closed dialogues on Malaysia-Turkiye relations and West Asia-related issues.
