PORT MORESBY, Papua New Guinea: Ever wonder why the global eyes are always fixed on Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad whenever he takes part in an international forum?
Foreign Affairs Minister Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah has shared some latest moments that enhanced Dr Mahathir's stature especially since he returned as Malaysia's seventh prime minister in May this year.
Saifuddin said during the Asean Summit in Singapore early this week, a few ministers had sought bilateral meetings with Malaysia solely because they wanted to meet the veteran statesman.
"Normally, people will share a list of things for bilateral meetings. There were one or two bilaterals during the Asean Summit where they (the foreign ministers) just wanted to meet Tun," Saifuddin said at a press conference on Dr Mahathir's participation at the 26th Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit here on Friday.
He said Dr Mahathir had led by example for his ability to highlight key issues and respond to hard questions from international audience.
"Tun was the only leader (at the Singapore summit) to openly bring up the issue of fair trade especially for developing countries. Most brought up the issue of free trade.
He had pointed out that there was a different level of Asean economies. Hence, the need for fair trade, Saifuddin said.
Dr Mahathir will make his first appearance at the Apec summit since the 2003 edition in Bangkok, Thailand when he was Malaysia's fourth prime minister. He was prime minister from 1981 till 2003.
The two-day summit starts on Saturday, with Dr Mahathir kicking off his packed itinerary as a keynote speaker at the Apec CEO Summit.
"You can expect that Tun will continue talking about the importance of free and fair trade at the Apec summit," Saifuddin said.