PORT DICKSON, July 24 — A Malaysian vessel has been cleared to transit the Red Sea and is expected to arrive in Melaka early next month, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said.
He said this demonstrates that Malaysia’s foreign policy, along with its good relations with other countries, has allowed the effective handling of several critical issues and shipping crises.
“Yesterday, Petronas president and group chief executive Tan Sri Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz informed me that another Petronas vessel, which departed from Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, via the Red Sea, has been granted clearance.
“The vessel will arrive in Melaka in early August, thank God,” he said at the Semarak Kenegaraan event at the Army Basic Training Centre (PUSASDA) here today.
Also present were Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Shamsul Azri Abu Bakar, Deputy Defence Minister Adly Zahari, Chief of Defence Force Tan Sri Malek Razak Sulaiman, and army chief Tan Sri Azhan Md Othman.
The Red Sea has become a high-risk route following attacks on commercial vessels by the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen.
On Monday, the group announced a “blockade” on Saudi vessels, about a week after a fresh confrontation erupted with the neighbouring country that has been in conflict with the group for more than a decade.
Anwar said Malaysia’s good relations with Iran’s top leaders allowed direct bilateral communication, which helped resolve the issue peacefully and swiftly.
“Fortunately, thank God, we have good relations with the Iranian government. We maintain good relations with the United States, the Gulf countries and Iran.
“When a Petronas vessel was blocked a few months ago after the war began, our good relations enabled me to easily call the president of Iran.
“After conveying my sympathies, I asked him to release the Petronas vessel. Among the first vessels allowed through the Strait of Hormuz was the Petronas vessel, which has since arrived in Pengerang,” he said.
Malaysian tanker Ocean Thunder was among the first vessels granted passage through Hormuz, having arrived at Pengerang Terminal in Johor on April 17.
Passage through Hormuz, a strategic narrow waterway through which 20 per cent of the world’s crude oil and gas used to pass, was disrupted following continued US and Israeli attacks on Iranian territories and facilities since February 28.
The US and Iran later signed a memorandum of understanding towards a ceasefire, with a final agreement to be reached within 60 days, but Washington has kept up a barrage of attacks across Iran since last week, with Tehran responding by striking facilities and bases it claimed are used by the US military in several Gulf countries.
Anwar stressed that the Madani Government’s approach of maintaining good relations with major powers such as the US, China, and Gulf states proves Malaysia can safeguard its strategic interests without compromising its principles.
“Some people ask why I have good relations with China or with the United States. As a developing country, we maintain good relations.
“But when it comes to the killings in Gaza, or the US’ military attack on the Islamic Republic of Iran, Malaysia was among the first countries to convene a special Parliament sitting to condemn the attacks by Israel and the United States,” he said.
