Malaysian PM’s Bangladesh visit gave hope in post-turmoil period: CA Yunus

Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's official visit to Dhaka last year provided a much needed morale boost to the nation as it was just emerging from political turmoil, Chief Adviser Professor Dr Muhammad Yunus said yesterday (13 August). 

The Nobel Prize laureate reflected on Anwar's visit in an exclusive interview with Malaysian National News Agency Bernama before concluding his official visit to Malaysia.

He said Anwar's visit also brought hope to the country during one of its most challenging times.

In the interview, Muhammad Yunus recalled a period of uncertainty facing Bangladesh following the youth-led July mass uprising that ousted former prime minister Sheikh Hasina. 

He likened the situation to being struck by a "magnitude 9 earthquake" where everything was "destroyed, in a big mess, and nothing was functioning - only anger erupted". 

"We were given the responsibility of running the country in a very difficult situation. It was an extremely difficult job," he added.  

"Not only to clean up (the mess), but you also have to rebuild everything. So we search for a way, space, and how to go about it. And while we are busy figuring out how to do that, we got the good news. The prime minister of Malaysia is visiting us," Yunus said. 

Anwar visited Bangladesh in October 2024 and became the first foreign leader to embark on a significant visit, two months after the Yunus-led administration was formed to put the country back in order. 

"He gave us hope. His visit was enormously exciting to the people. Malaysia is well known to the people in Bangladesh because so many Bangladeshis are here, and their families are here," the chief adviser said. 

"It is not an unknown country. So having the Prime Minister of Malaysia to say, "Yes, we're with you", meant a lot to the people of Bangladesh. So he had a very encouraging and inspiring presence when he came," he said. 

Yunus, 85, is also an economist and social entrepreneur. He founded the Grameen Bank in 1983, which provides collateral-free microcredit services for disadvantaged groups, especially women in Bangladesh.

 Malaysia was the first country to adopt the Grameen Bank model through the establishment of Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia. 

Yunus undertook a three-day official visit to Malaysia from 11 to 13 August, during which he held meetings with Anwar to review the progress of Malaysia-Bangladesh relations, particularly in the areas of trade and investment, labour, education, tourism and defence, as well as regional and international developments of mutual interest. He also met with local leaders and prominent business figures from various sectors to advance bilateral ties between the two countries. 

"We had a wonderful and very successful visit, I must say. We are very happy with the visit. Everybody was so generous with their time. The officials that we wanted to meet, leaders that we wanted to meet, all came forward," he said.

Yunus was confident that the visit would further strengthen bilateral relations and expand cooperation in mutually beneficial areas, building on the strong ties established since diplomatic relations began in 1972.

Bangladesh is Malaysia's second-largest trading partner and export destination in South Asia, with key exports including petroleum products, palm oil and chemicals, while imports comprise textiles, footwear, petroleum products and manufactured goods. In 2024, Malaysia-Bangladesh trade rose 5.1% to RM13.35 billion (US$2.92 billion).