If there’s one thing people will remember from this year’s ASEAN Summit, it won’t be Timor Leste’s long-awaited entry into the organisation, nor the peace accord signed between Cambodia and Thailand.
Rather, it will be Donald Trump’s impromptu dance the moment he stepped off Air Force One, with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim greeting him at the tarmac, flags waving, cameras flashing, and the world watching.
Trump, ever the showman, joined local cultural performers in a brief jig, grinning as he waved both the Malaysian and American flags — a gesture that immediately flooded social media feeds.
This is a far cry from what I was told to expect when Trump arrives in Malaysia.
Yesterday, for example, a day before Trump arrived at our shore, a professor friend of mine was already trembling with excitement and alarm.
“Anwar is definitely going to condemn Trump over his actions in the Palestine-Israel conflict,” he declared, eyes wide, “and there’s going to be a massive protest planned against him too!”
From his reaction, I could see just how far Anwar has fallen out of favour with his former supporters — to the point where some now seem to have wet dreams imagining his downfall.
But my learned friend’s reaction is a perfect example of how desire and frustration can cloud one’s judgment.
For all his anger about Anwar’s “betrayal,” I have no doubt that if Anwar were to suddenly walk into the restaurant we were sitting in, this same friend would rise from his seat, smile broadly, shake Anwar’s hand and say, “Datuk Seri, I voted for you in GE15 — it’s such an honour to meet you!”
I know this is how my friend would have reacted, because that’s how power works. If people actually berated those in power instead of flattering them, no one would desire power so much.
While my learned friend, as well as his learned friends, are all so entirely convinced, that if elections is held today, Anwar is going to lose power, because many of those who voted for him before, will not be voting for him , I tend to think that most of them are speaking emotionally rather than realistically.
Emotionally, all of them assume that they are the sort that will speak truth to power, but practically speaking, there is is nothing in their lives that shows that they have ever stood against power for something that they believe to be right - instead, there are many examples in their life to show that when there is conflict with what they conscientiously believe in and what power is suggesting, they have a talent of shutting down their conscience and convincing themselves that power is right.
Considering that, if elections were held today, I have no doubt that most of the people who tell me that they will never vote for Anwar again, will somehow or other brainwash themselves into voting for Anwar again, simply because people tend to flatter power, not oppose it.
And knowing that, we should understand one thing — no matter how much Anwar might have criticised Trump in his speeches, in person he can only be expected to bring his very best, because just as Anwar is powerful relative to us, Trump is powerful relative to Anwar.
And as expected, bring his best he did.
He joked with Trump, joined him in a car ride, and even got jiggy with it on the airport tarmac.
Politicians, we must understand, are natural charmers.
You might think that if you ever meet a PAS politician— given their public sermons against gambling, alcohol and moral decay — you’d have a miserable time.
But in reality, if you were to meet one, I will bet that you will likely very much enjoy your interaction with them. If you were to meet someone from PAS, especially when they need your favour, I have no doubt that they they will bring on their best to charm you, even if you have a 4D ticket in one hand and a beer in another.
Why? Because politicians are trained to make you feel special and important. You can't be a politician if you don't know how to make a person feel special and important.
And among politicians, Anwar Ibrahim stands head and shoulders above the rest. Regardless of what he personally thinks of Trump — whether over tariffs, trade, or the Palestine-Israel crisis — you can bet your last ringgit that he unleashed the full force of his charm offensive on Trump from the get go.
If my professor friend — who believes Anwar betrayed him — would still flatter him if they met, how much more would Anwar flatter Trump, a man whose approval can shift headlines and markets?
After all, my friend is just an amateur in a game where Anwar is the master of masters.
But while Anwar was busy charming the world’s most unpredictable statesman, PAS was busy doing what PAS does best — expressing moral outrage.
PAS Secretary-General Takiyuddin Hassan accused the government of going “overboard” in welcoming Trump, saying it “rubbed salt into the wounds of the people in Gaza who are still suffering.”
He added that such fanfare was “insensitive” in light of the ongoing humanitarian disaster in the Middle East.
“We should not adopt such an approach when interacting with him,” Takiyuddin thundered, reminding the government that any deals signed with the U.S. must be based on “respect, justice and equal economic benefits.”
Strong words indeed — except they ring hollow when you realise PAS couldn’t even organise a proper protest against Trump’s visit.
Yes, there was supposedly a demonstration planned, but conveniently, the police were “informed” ahead of time and easily prevented it.
And even if they hadn’t, PAS ruled four states. It could easily have mustered tens of thousands of supporters in Kota Bharu or Kuala Terengganu to burn an effigy or chant for Trump to “go home.”
Much of the world's press was in KL covering the summit and Trump's visit - if PAS had made a scene, they could have easily gotten it covered and succeeded in sending a message to the world.
Yet they conveniently chose not to do it.
It’s easier, it seems, to condemn from a distance than to mobilise when it matters. So PAS settled for thundering about Gaza while taking no real stand — content to scold Anwar for “rolling out the red carpet” for Trump instead.
I suppose that that itself should let you know what is the true reason that is underlying its discontent. It probably was just upset that Anwar was in the position that they wanted to be rather than be truly aggrieved by the fanfare afforded to Trump when their Palestinian brethren were suffering in Gaza.
If they were truly concerned about the suffering of their Palestinian brethren, they would have used the opportune moment to rally by the tens of thousands, to send a message of solidarity to their brethren and protest against the felicitation of their tormentor.
In a way, I suppose politics is a lot like attending a wedding or a funeral.
You may not care much about the bride, the groom, or the deceased — but you still show up, dress up, and pretend to care, because that’s what society expects.
Likewise, whether it’s Anwar welcoming Trump or PAS condemning him, both sides are merely performing their expected roles.
It’s not really about Trump, or Gaza, or diplomacy that really concerns them. Rather, it is about them — their image, their base, their reputation and their need to appear like they deserve to be treated with respect, admiration, and perhaps even be hoisted to the top, by the people around them, because of how well they perform the role that is expected of them, although they might even really be that concerned about the substance of their performance.
Now, if you are jaded and cynical, you might call this entire charade an act of hypocrisy and pretense.
But philosophically, I think I would prefer to call this theatre of politics just an aspect of the game of life — this is all just a game we play in the life we lead, one way or another, while waiting for death to quietly draw the curtain close.
TheRealNehruism (nehru.sathiamoorthy@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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