Jakarta, The Indonesia Post – Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said that the suffering he experienced, including while in prison, was not comparable to the suffering of the Malaysian people.
“I am ashamed to write down my suffering, because it is small compared to the suffering felt by the majority of the people,” said Anwar Ibrahim at the CT Corp Leadership Forum in Jakarta, Monday.
According to him, there are lessons to be learned from everything he has experienced, including in the political arena. “That matured me. I understand more what it means to be free and democratic, because I know the experience of living in confinement,” he said.
Anwar also said that as someone who had been excluded, he understood what social justice meant.
PM Anwar said that many of his colleagues in Indonesia had helped him through difficult times in politics. He also thanked President Joko Widodo and the people in Indonesia who were always willing to help him.
“I have never felt alienated in Indonesia,” said the Malaysian PM.
On that occasion, Anwar also shared that his mother was a fan of great works of Indonesian literature, such as the literary works of Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana, Armijn Pane and Buya Hamka, which his mother not only read but also understood.
“Indonesia has given birth to great figures who are unrivaled from various trends such as Soekarno, Hatta, Muhammad Natsir and Sultan Sjahrir. They are great figures in the early generations.” he added.
PM Anwar Ibrahim’s visit to Indonesia is his first official visit abroad after he was sworn in as Prime Minister of Malaysia on 24 November 2022. (mhn/bbs)
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