Jakarta. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim hosted President-elect Prabowo Subianto for some talks at his office in Putrajaya on Thursday, with some casual conversation covering their careers in politics, among others.

In his personal social media account, Anwar revealed the discussions he had with Prabowo, who will start assuming office this October. Aside from the future direction of Indonesia-Malaysia ties, both politicians talked of their journey on how they made it to where they are now.

“We take advantage of this moment to exchange experience and views regarding our [political] careers and the future direction of Malaysia-Indonesia ties. Our journeys in politics are quite similar. We had a casual conversation on being tested with a series of obstacles before being inaugurated, in addition to stories of Prabowo’s days studying at Kuala Lumpur’s Victoria Institution,” Anwar posted on his Instagram. 

“I congratulated the soon-to-be-appointed 8th Indonesian president. May Malaysia and Indonesia continue to have close, friendly relationships that are stronger for the common good in the future,” Anwar said.

The two politicians had to face a bumpy road before they could rise to power. Anwar was a longtime opposition leader and was even sentenced to prison over sodomy and corruption in the late 1990s. In 2011, Anwar told the courtroom that the sodomy charges were a vicious lie meant to ruin him politically. He was then jailed for sodomy for the second time in 2015. Anwar became the prime minister in 2022. Prabowo had to lose to the outgoing Joko “Jokowi” Widodo twice in the 2014 and 2019 elections. Prabowo, who picked Jokowi’s son Gibran Rakabuming Raka as his running mate, finally won the election this year.

According to a separate press release, Prabowo told Anwar that strengthening defense cooperation would continue to remain a “main priority”. Prabowo today still serves as the defense minister and will take over from Jokowi this October. Indonesia also plans to strengthen relations with “friendly nations”, including Malaysia and other ASEAN countries.

In 2022, Malaysia and Indonesia signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on defense cooperation. The MoU encompasses regular dialogues on security issues of shared interests, partnership between the respective armed forces, and exchange of personnel, among others. 

Last September, Anwar flew to Jakarta for the 43rd ASEAN Summit. Indonesia at the time was chairing the Southeast Asian bloc. Malaysia will take up the baton from the 2024 ASEAN chair Laos next year.