02/09/2025

TUESDAY | SEP 2, 2025

2

Prison inmates skilled in tenun to get jobs

PEKAN: The Tengku Ampuan of Pahang Tunku Azizah Aminah Maimunah Iskandariah will extend employment opportunities to inmates skilled in the royal craft of Tenun Pahang Diraja through the Perkampungan Ihsan Al-Sultan Abdullah programme. Tunku Azizah said 17 participants from Penor and Bentong prisons, who took part in the Tunku Azizah Cup for Tenun Pahang Diraja, had inspired her to revive the heritage craft while giving them a second chance once they are released. “I cannot move forward without the Malaysian Prisons Department which has helped me greatly. The inmates gave me hope to revive the art of Tenun Pahang Diraja. Without them, I would not be standing here. “I want to give them a chance to continue this craft once they leave prison,”she said at the prize giving ceremony of the competition and the opening of the Temasya Warisan Pahang at the Pulau Beram Maritime Museum here on Sunday. The event was launched by the Sultan of Pahang Al-Sultan Abdullah Ri’ayatuddin Al Mustafa Billah Shah. The Tunku Azizah Cup serves as a prestigious platform to unearth creative weaving talent, honour skilled Tenun Pahang Diraja artisans and promote the heritage craft both nationally and internationally. Al-Sultan Abdullah also launched the Yayasan Warisan Tunku Azizah, a foundation established under the patronage of the Yayasan Tenun Pahang Diraja. Meanwhile, Their Royal Highnesses also visited the Lukisan Jiwa exhibition showcasing artworks by renowned singer Datuk M. Nasir. – Bernama KUALA LUMPUR: The United States (US) has extended warm congratulations to Malaysia on the nation’s 68th Merdeka. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington and Kuala Lumpur have enjoyed a strong, enduring partnership over the decades, rooted in shared values of peace, security and prosperity. He said this partnership was reflected in recent cooperation to secure a lasting ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia. Rubio also voiced confidence that ties would be deepened in the years ahead. “On behalf of the United States of America, I send my sincerest congratulations to the people of Malaysia on the 68th anniversary of Malaysia’s independence on Aug 31. “The US and Malaysia have enjoyed a strong and enduring partnership throughout the decades, built on a shared vision of peace, security and prosperity, as evidenced by our recent cooperation to ensure a lasting ceasefire for Thailand and Cambodia. “I look forward to deepening our ties as we chart a bright future for both our countries. “With warmest congratulations from the US as you mark this milestone, I wish all the people of Malaysia a prosperous year ahead,” Rubio said in a message posted on the US Embassy in Kuala Lumpur’s official Facebook page on Monday. Rubio visited Malaysia in July to attend a series of Asean-related engagements, including the Asean-United States Post Ministerial Conference, the East Asia Summit Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and the Asean Regional Forum Foreign Ministers’ Meeting. During the visit, he held talks with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and regional counterparts, with discussions focusing, among others, on strengthening the Indo-Pacific partnership and boosting economic collaboration. – Bernama US congratulates Malaysia on 68th National Day

‘Asia must take assertive role in shaping global economy’ The prime minister’s wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Transport Minister Anthony Loke, Home Minister Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Malaysian delegates listening to Anwar’s lecture at the university yesterday. – BERNAMAPIC

standing apart. It is the conviction that nations can remain fully themselves, sovereign in choice, in voice and in destiny, while still being open to the flows of trade, investment, talent and technology on which prosperity depends.” He also urged fresh thinking on interdependence in both political and economic theory. He added that the world now requires an evolved framework, where connectivity enhances rather than undermines sovereignty. “Interdependence should not make nations fearful that their autonomy will be diluted. It should give them confidence that, by being connected, their resilience is multiplied.” With Asia home to the majority of the world’s youth, and driving global technological and economic growth, Anwar said the region must stop being a passive recipient of policies and instead become an active participant. “Asia is the engine of global growth. We are not merely the objects of other people’s strategies. We are the authors of our own destiny.” Anwar also underscored China’s role as a civilisational power, saying its choices would be pivotal in shaping regional openness and stability. He said Malaysia would continue to champion an open, inclusive and fair global economic order, showing that nations could be sovereign without being suspicious and open without being naive.

o World at critical juncture, with long-standing trade rules, institutions under strain and global economy unsettled: PM

Ű BY IKHWAN ZULKAFLEE newsdesk@thesundaily.com

now with rising trade barriers, the weaponisation of commerce and growing scepticism towards multilateral institutions. “Each of these reorderings was scripted far from our shores. Asia was present but it was not the author. Today, we have the responsibility to ensure that the next chapter is written with Asian ink as well.” He warned that this latest wave of fragmentation carries real costs, particularly for emerging economies. Citing International Monetary Fund data, he said severe trade and technological decoupling could cost some countries up to 12% of GDP, leading to lost livelihoods, delayed medical supplies and diminished opportunities. “For decades, openness allowed emerging economies to leap forward, converge toward higher incomes and lift millions out of poverty. If capital and technology begin to flow only within gated blocs, the ladder of opportunity may be kicked away just as others are beginning to climb.” While recognising frustrations with globalisation, he cautioned against isolationism or exclusive economic blocs. He proposed a model of “sovereign interdependence” instead, protecting national autonomy while embracing openness. “This is the art of standing tall without

PETALING JAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has urged Asia to take a more assertive and constructive role in shaping the global economy, warning that the international order is facing deep uncertainty and fragmentation. Delivering a public lecture at Tianjin University in China yesterday, Anwar said the world stands at a critical juncture where long standing trade rules and institutions are under strain. He described the current climate as one of “unsettling dislocation”, marked by arbitrary export controls, unchecked subsidies and a retreat from integration and open markets. “We are at a moment when the world economy feels unsettled. Trade rules that once promised predictability are now capriciously altered or ignored. Where integration was once assumed, fragmentation is now the prevailing mood.” Anwar said the current upheaval represents the fourth major economic shift since the mid-20th century, following Bretton Woods in 1944, the dollar’s decoupling from gold in 1971 and the liberalisation of capital markets with the rise of the G7. He said the new reorder is taking shape

China pledges grant of RM1.2b to SCO member states TIANJIN: Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged to provide 2 billion yuan (RM1.2 billion) in grants to member states of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) within this year, reported Xinhua. Xi made the pledge on Monday at the 25th Meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the SCO held in the port city of Tianjin. He added that China would also issue an additional 10 billion yuan (RM5.9 billion) in loans to the member banks of the SCO Interbank Consortium over the next three years. Xi said China’s investment stock in other SCO member states has exceeded US$84 billion (RM354 billion) and its annual bilateral trade with other SCO member states has surpassed US$500 billion (RM2,203 billion). – Bernama-Xinhua