Malaysia seeks early date for Anwar-Prabowo talks as bilateral agreements await signing

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim with Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto during the latter’s visit to Kuala Lumpur January 27, 2025. — Bernama pic

First Published: Saturday, 07 Nov 2026 9:48 AM MYT

JAKARTA, Nov 7 — Efforts will be made to convene the Malaysia-Indonesia Annual Consultation at the earliest opportunity, with several memoranda of understanding (MoUs) already agreed upon for signing during the high-level meeting.

Malaysian Ambassador to Indonesia Datuk Muzafar Shah Mustafa said he had raised the matter directly with President Prabowo Subianto during an interaction at Istana Merdeka on Friday, following the presentation of his credentials to the Indonesian leader.

“Overall, I view President Prabowo’s remarks as very positive, and I hope this will provide further momentum to strengthen the good relations between Malaysia and Indonesia,” he told Bernama.

The upcoming 14th Annual Consultation will bring together Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Prabowo to review bilateral cooperation and discuss issues of mutual interest.

The Annual Consultation is the highest-level bilateral mechanism between the two countries, providing a platform for their leaders to advance cooperation in trade, investment, defence, security, border matters, and other strategic areas.

The previous consultation, the 13th in the series, was held in Jakarta on July 29, 2025, marking the revival of the mechanism after the last meeting in Kuching, Sarawak, in 2017.

Muzafar said he also conveyed greetings from the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Sultan Ibrahim, and Anwar to Prabowo, while reaffirming Malaysia’s commitment to strengthening cooperation with Indonesia as a neighbour and strategic partner.

“President Prabowo repeatedly emphasised that Malaysia and Indonesia are brotherly nations. He also spoke about his close relationship with His Majesty Sultan Ibrahim, whom he described as a former schoolmate, as well as his close ties with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim,” he said.

The Indonesian President also emphasised the close cultural and people-to-people ties between the two countries and expressed hope that bilateral relations would continue to grow.

Malaysia and Indonesia will commemorate the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2027, marking seven decades of bilateral ties since the establishment of formal ties in 1957.

On forest and land fires, Muzafar said Prabowo emphasised that Indonesia had done its utmost to tackle the problem, including mobilising tens of thousands of personnel and deploying various firefighting assets.

He said Prabowo also referred to companies including those from Malaysia and Singapore, and stressed that firm action would be taken against those found to have committed offences. — Bernama