Khairy S Out Of The Box Idea Mahathir As Minister To Oic

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Arab and Islamic leaders holding talks on Gaza at the extraordinary OIC summit in Riyadh on Nov 11. (Facebook pic)PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim should have appointed Dr Mahathir Mohamad as a minister mentor to represent the country at the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation summit meeting, says former health minister Khairy Jamaluddin.
Although he acknowledges the impracticality of the suggestion, Khairy said the former prime minister could have significantly enhanced the country’s presence on the global stage.
“It’s a ridiculous suggestion in practice, but it would have been an out-of-the-box idea for Anwar to have appointed Mahathir as minister mentor and sent him to Riyadh to represent Malaysia,” he said in the latest episode of his Keluar Sekejap podcast today.
Khairy said the idea would be an unconventional approach to leverage the country’s influence in international forums. Mahathir would have brought “a different level of gravitas” to such meetings, particularly concerning the issue of Palestine.
Mahathir has been a vocal critic of Israel’s policies towards the Palestinians for many years.
“When Malaysia attends the OIC conference, the gravitas of its leader matters,” said Khairy. “If it’s an ordinary leader, the impact is different. Yet imagine if Mahathir enters the hall, his gravitas is somewhat different,” he said.
The OIC held an extraordinary summit meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Nov 11 in response to the Israeli military attack on Gaza. - FMT

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