REMARKS BY

 

YAB DATO’ SERI ANWAR IBRAHIM,

PRIME MINISTER OF MALAYSIA

 

AT THE PUBLIC LECTURE BY

H.E. RECEP TAYYIP ERDOĞAN

PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF TÜRKİYE

 

  

10 FEBRUARY 2025 | 3:45 P.M.

PUTRAJAYA INTERNATIONAL CONVENTION CENTRE

 

 

Assalamualaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh dan Salam Sejahtera,

 

Yang dihormati dan sahabat, Presiden Republik Turkiye Recep Tayyip Erdoğan;

 

Isterinya Puan Emine Erdoğan;

 

Menteri-menteri dari Turkiye dan Malaysia,

Yang di-Pertua Dewan Rakyat,

Tan Sri Dato’ (Dr.) Johari bin Abdul;

dan rakan-rakan yang dimuliakan.

Satu penghormatan besar bagi kita untuk menyambut sahabat dan pemimpin yang terkenal yang telah banyak berjasa kepada Turkiye dan dunia Islam dan dunia sejagat umumnya.

My dear brother and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Sister Emine Erdoğan, Excellencies, Ladies and gentlemen,

1. It is a singular honour to welcome President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to Malaysia. His visit reaffirms the strong, enduring and forward-looking partnership between the two countries.

2. Few statesmen of our era have exhibited such fortitude, resolve and a firm grasp of history’s tides as President Erdoğan. For more than two decades, he has steered Türkiye through an era of extraordinary transformation. He has done so with a clarity of purpose and conviction that is both rare and enviable. Indeed, President Erdoğan has reshaped the contours of Turkish statecraft, reasserted national pride, and positioned Türkiye as an indispensable player on the global stage.

3. The results are clear for all to see. Türkiye today is resurgent, self-assured and globally engaged. Its economic rise, its infrastructural rejuvenation, and its bold diplomacy have all been driven by a leadership that does not wait to be invited to history’s table but instead takes its rightful seat. There are those who posture and those who act.

4. My dear brother President Erdoğan is emphatically in the latter category. He has shown moral clarity and courage on Palestine. At a time when principles are too often sacrificed for convenience, Erdoğan has spoken out fearlessly against dispossession, occupation and genocide.

5. Türkiye’s support has gone beyond words – it has been tangible, diplomatic, and steadfast. While others have hesitated, he has remained resolute. As global attention has intensified, he has ensured that support for Palestine translates into meaningful action.

6. Nearly three decades ago, I wrote The Asian Renaissance – about how nations and peoples in this vast region were rising from the ashes of their colonial subjugation, reclaiming their agency, and forging new paths to modernity. Today, we witness in Türkiye a parallel phenomenon: a technological renaissance that has launched the nation into a new frontier.

7. The meteoric rise and success of Bayraktar drones is an industrial triumph. The TOGG electric vehicle project, advancements in space technology, and the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence capabilities all point to a nation that refuses to be shackled by the constraints of past expectations and is embracing liberation and the freedom meaningfully for the nation to truly move forward.

8. Yet beyond the policies and statistics lies someone and something more intangible but no less crucial – a reassertion in Türkiye of national dignity. On the geopolitical front, Erdoğan has propelled Türkiye as a global power and earned a reputation as a trusted mediator for peace in the Middle East and European affairs.

9. Today, Türkiye does not merely react to events – it shapes them. This is no accident. And that’s because our dear brother, President Erdoğan understands that history does not look kindly upon the meek; it favours the brave.

10. I would be remiss if I did not and make reference to my own friendship with President Erdoğan and my dear sister Emine Erdoğan, a friendship built not on convenience, but on steadfast solidarity. In times of personal adversity, long periods, President Erdoğan, sister Emine and the family has extended a hand to me, Azizah and the family when many turned away. Your support, my dear President, my brother, your support in the most calamitous and difficult period was neither perfunctory nor designed for political experience or expedience. No, it was an expression of genuine fraternity, friendship and love and compassion. So, President Erdoğan and sister Emine, I have never forgotten it, and we in Malaysia will never will.

11. President Erdoğan’s journey is one of remarkable defiance. From imprisonment to the highest office in the land, his story is not merely one of survival, but of triumph. He has not simply withstood adversity; he has turned it into a forge for even greater resilience. Türkiye today is stronger, more assured, and more determined than at any time in its modern history, and that is in no small part due to your stewardship my dear President Erdoğan.

12. Today, we welcome you Sister Emine. Not just a Head of State and First Lady, but a leader whose influence is felt far beyond his borders and Malaysians generally love you, Erdoğan.

13. And so, on behalf of the Government and people of Malaysia and of course my family, we extend my deepest gratitude to His Excellency President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for gracing us with your presence today. Your Excellency, your collaboration, wisdom and friendship are deeply valued, and we look forward to further deepening our ties in the spirit of peace, prosperity, and shared destiny.

14. With that, it is my great honour to invite our brother His Excellency President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to deliver his address.

Terima Kasih. Teşekkür ederim.

Similar Posts:

• TURKIYE EARTHQUAKE: PM ANWAR CONVEYS CONDOLONCES TO PRESIDENT ERDOGAN
• PM ANWAR EXPRESSES M’SIAN SOLIDARITY TO HELP TURKIYE FACE DIFFICULT TIMES
• MALAYSIA GIVES SPECIAL ATTENTION BECAUSE TURKIYE QUAKE WORST IN HISTORY
• PM ANWAR LEAVES FOR TURKIYE TO PROVIDE MORAL SUPPORT
• PM ANWAR PROUD OF EFFICIENCY, PROFESSIONALISM OF MALAYSIAN RESCUERS IN TURKIYE