Anwar was on song in India. Will Malaysia reap the rewards?

Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim caused a bit of a stir in India recently with his spirited rendition of a Bollywood classic – a lighthearted moment that also neatly captured his broader push to deepen ties with the South Asian giant.

A video of Anwar singing, from memory, Kishore Kumar’s 1965 hit ballad “Khwab Ho Tum Ya Koi Haqeeqat” (“Are you a dream or are you reality?”) was first posted to his social media accounts last Sunday before quickly being picked up by Indian news outlets.

The performance came as Anwar joined leaders from across the Global South in New Delhi from September 12-13 for the annual Brics summit, where Malaysia took part as a partner country.

Viral recitals aside, the visit’s underlying importance lay in Malaysia’s attempts to widen its economic and strategic options at a time of intensifying rivalry between the US and China.

After meeting his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, Anwar toured the country, pressing the case for more capital and opportunity to flow between the two nations with political leaders and captains of industry alike.