PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has strongly rebuked conservative American political commentator Bill O’Reilly for his recent remark claiming that Southeast Asia “has no money”, calling the statement both arrogant and ignorant.
Anwar, who is also Finance Minister, said the comment not only reflects O’Reilly’s lack of understanding of the current realities in Southeast Asia but also reveals a narrow worldview shaped by racial bias and colonialist ideology.
“This is a clear display of extreme arrogance by individuals who are, in fact, poorly informed, ignorant, and who believe that only their group or nation is successful.
“In social sciences, this is referred to as a trapped mindset…a worldview shaped by imperialist attitudes that fosters xenophobia, racial prejudice, and Islamophobia,” he told reporters after attending the Ministry of Finance’s Aidilfitri do here today.
Anwar was accompanied by his wife, Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
Also present were Finance Minister II Datuk Seri Amir Hamzah Azizan, Deputy Finance Minister Lim Hui Ying and Treasury secretary-general Datuk Johan Mahmood Merican.
-Agency
