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Anwar cites Muslim senator’s victory in US as rejection of racism
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has cited the election of Democrat Abdul El-Sayed as the first Muslim to the United States Senate as an example of growing acceptance of racial and religious diversity in American politics.
The issue also resonates in Malaysia, where race and religion remain fixtures of political discourse and electoral contestation.
However...
Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has cited the election of Democrat Abdul El-Sayed as the first Muslim to the United States Senate as an example of growing acceptance of racial and religious diversity in American politics.
The issue also resonates in Malaysia, where race and religion remain fixtures of political discourse and electoral contestation.
However, Anwar himself has not been spared criticism from those who argue that his administration has reinforced, rather than eased, these sensitivities.
“They understand democracy and reject racism. Those who defeated President Donald Trump's Republican Party in the US are people who oppose racism.
“They campaigned against racism and religious oppression, bringing a new message. When racism gains ground, Muslims and other minorities are the ones who suffer,” the prime minister was quoted as saying by Bernama.
/file/attachments/orphans/New-Big-Picture-05112026-05_518082.jpg "Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim")
Anwar said the victory showed how rejecting racial prejudice could strike a chord with voters and become a rallying message for political change.
However, he stressed that Malaysia need not emulate the US political model, as the country had its own identity as a prosperous, multiracial nation.
US voters rebuke Trump
El-Sayed, a Democrat, won Michigan’s Senate seat in the Nov 3 midterm elections, making history as the first Muslim elected to the upper chamber of Congress.
The midterms delivered a sweeping victory for the Democrats, who wrested control of both chambers of Congress from the Republicans in what amounted to a significant rebuke of Trump’s administration.
The results, widely characterised as a blue wave, reflected mounting voter discontent over the cost of living, inflation, Trump’s economic policies and US military involvement in the war with Iran.
The outcome also carries significant implications for the remainder of Trump’s presidency. Having made the midterms a referendum on his leadership, Trump had urged voters to treat the outcome as a personal endorsement of his presidency.
/file/publisher-c1a3f893382d2b2f8a9aa22a654d9c97/2025/07/c7d3e448f988fa000d019217009666aa.jpg "The United States (US) President Donald Trump on Thursday directed the Attorney General to produce \"pertinent\" testimony tied to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein’ 180725")
When the results went against his party, Trump took to social media to offer his own post-mortem.
“I wasn’t on the ballot, and if I was, we would have won in a landslide!” he declared, before signing off with his trademark flourish: “Thank you for your attention to this matter.”
He later posted a photograph of a baseball cap emblazoned with the word “Veto” - perhaps an early indication of how he intends to respond to a Congress now under Democratic control.
In an interview with The New York Times, however, Trump struck a more conciliatory note, saying he would accept the election results and was prepared to work with Democrats.
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Funny how PMX can instantly recognise racism when it happens 15,000km away in America. Yet when racial and religious provocations are happening right here at home, the response is often deafening silence, careful diplomacy, or political calculation. Don't preach about rejecting racism overseas when you lack the courage to confront it consistently in your own backyard. Leadership isn't measured by speeches about America. It's measured by what you do when racism happens in Malaysia. Where was your voice when PAS and Akmal were playing racial and religious politics almost daily? Where was your leadership during the KK Mart controversy, the socks issue, the flag controversies, and the endless stream of divisive rhetoric that kept Malaysians at each other's throats?
The Renaissance Man could see racism in the US but not in his own backyard. What a joke! Anwar, Abdul El-Sayed WILL NOT SAY 'victory for Islam.' Otherwise, they'll kick him out of the Senate the next day. Using your logic of rejecting racism in the US, I can say that once Malaysia has a non-Muslim and non-Malay Prime Minister, according to the Federal Constitution, racism is rejected in Malaysia. Until then, racism will be thicker than elephant skin back here.
Yes indeed, this is a VICTORY for Islam. US rejected racism by electing a Muslim senator, and in Malaysia we also rejected racism by not promoting an Indian civil servant as alleged by Rafizi
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