NEW YORK: The mission of the Malaysian delegate to the 78th United Nations General Assembly led by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was deemed as successful although he was, at first, hesitant about attending.
This was because at the beginning, he felt he needed to be in the country to focus on the administration due to political uncertainties before and after the state elections, followed by the twin by-elections in Johor.
Also weighing him down was the issue of prices of goods and the lack of food supplies affecting the peoples' lives.
However, he changed his mind after finding that the situation was under control with the cabinet and the public service who are discharging their respective duties and roles.
Promptly, he made the decision to fly to New York with a visit originally planned for five days but was shortened to three, from Wednesday to Friday.
In a press conference after the "Temu Anwar" (meet and greet) session with Malaysians and students living in the United States on Friday, Anwar admitted that he felt heavy hearted about leaving the country for the less than a week work trip.
For the record, Anwar had a super tight schedule throughout his three-day work trip, which culminated with him delivering a state speech touching on various international issues, critics against selfish superpowers and denying the rights of small and poor countries.
Firmly representing the country and the rakyat, Anwar voiced his worry for conflicts happening in Palestine, Ukraine, Afghanistan and Myanmar.
He also took the opportunity to heighten bilateral ties, including a meeting with foreign leaders such as Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as well as issuing joint statements on Islamophobia threats and introducing Malaysia Madani.
Anwar had also met with 15 renowned companies including AirBnB, Amazon, AWS, Boeing, ConocoPhillips and Kimberly-Clark to attract more foreign investments.
Anwar remained humble with the positive views his foreign counterparts had of him, aside from them seeing the mission as excellent and praised him for being Malaysia's top salesman.
Instead, he attributed it to the team work of many from ministries and agencies, including the Malaysian Embassy in Washington and the Permanent Representative of Malaysia to the Office of the United Nations.
"Of course I want to do my best for the nation but I am lucky for the work of the Foreign and the International Trade and Industry ministries.
"They had made early preparations and our other agencies, as well as Bank Negara and Securities Commission, were also involved.
"When we work as a team, we will get good results and it is proven that our national profile has also been enhanced.
"For me, the results are to be proud of although it is quite tiring. But I will continue," he said.