Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus on Thursday (29 May, 2025) congratulated former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad ahead of his birth centenary, which will be celebrated in July.
Mahathir, who will turn 100 on July 10, called on the Chief Adviser at Imperial Hotel in Tokyo on the sidelines of the Nikkei Forum Future of Asia to revisit the memories they shared during their decades-long friendship.
“I wish you a very happy 100th birthday in advance,” the Chief Adviser told Mahathir, who served as Malaysian Prime Minister for 24 years from 1981 to 2003 and again from 2018 to 2020.
They discussed issues of mutual interest during the 40-minute-long meeting, including Bangladesh’s desire to become a ASEAN member and Rohingya repatriation.
Bangladesh applied to become a sectoral dialogue partner of ASEAN several years ago with the aim of becoming a full member. Malaysia is the current chair of the Siuth East Asian grouping.
“We need Malaysia’s support to become an ASEAN member,” the Chief Adviser told Mahathir, who played a key role in establishing ASEAN as a powerful regional body during his time as the Malaysian Prime Minister.
The Chief Adviser said that Bangladesh was also thankful to Malaysia, as the country employed hundreds of thousands of Bangladeshi people in the country in various sectors.
“In every village of Bangladesh, people know about Malaysia because people travel to the country for employment,” he said.
Mahathir said many Bangladeshis also established businesses in Malaysia and were doing well as entrepreneurs.
Mahathir recalled how Malaysia thrived due to his Look East policy and asked Bangladesh to undertake similar policies.
The Chief Adviser said that Bangladesh was also trying to increase its trade and bilateral relations with Malaysia’s neighbouring country, Indonesia, which, unlike Malaysia, is not a household name in Bangladesh.
Professor Yunus also requested Mahathir to use his influence to resolve the Rohingya crisis.
He also invited the former Malaysian leader to visit Bangladesh.
Mahathir said he would accept the invitation only if he was allowed by his physicians, who had restricted his travel due to his health condition.
