Anwar’s Russia trip, Brics bid show Malaysia is ‘picking a side’ in power rivalry: analysts

Plans by Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim to visit Russia as he energises a bid to join the Brics group of nations show his country joining sides in the struggle between world powers, analysts say, warning it plays into the hands of Moscow as it seeks new allies away from condemnation of its invasion of Ukraine.

Anwar last Friday announced his visit to Vladivostok to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in the “coming weeks”, following a trip by Moscow’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to Kuala Lumpur.

During that July 28 visit, Malaysia formally applied to join the Brics intergovernmental organisation, which Russia currently helms as president.

Brics, whose acronym leans on its founding members Brazil, Russia, India and China, was established in 2009 as a cooperation platform for emerging economies. South Africa joined the bloc in 2010, and it has now been expanded to include Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates.

Despite Anwar framing it as a continuation of Malaysia’s long-held principle of neutrality in foreign policy, geopolitical expert Tunku Mohar Mokhtar at Kuala Lumpur’s International Islamic University said the application would only reinforce the perception that Malaysia’s stance had shifted.

“Joining an economic coalition to rival G7 is obviously picking a side,” Tunku Mohar told This Week in Asia.

While Malaysia could benefit from greater access to the markets of Brics’ member states, this may negatively affect the country’s existing ties with the West, he added.

“Depending on Brics’ reactions to the Western-dominated global economic system, particularly the G7 or other institutions, we might see pushbacks, including trade and divestment barriers,” he said.

Anwar has restated Malaysia’s policy as