Anwar Ibrahim and Mahathir Met With Fmr. President Megawati of Indonesia

Liputan6.com, Kuala Lumpur - Megawati Soekarnoputri, the fifth President of Indonesia and the leader of the ruling party the Indonesian Democratic Party- Struggle (PDI-P), visited two Malaysian top politiicans during her visit to the country.

On Tuesday, she received a warm welcome from the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim, and his wife Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.

The cordial meeting between Megawati and Anwar took place at the Seri Perdana Complex in Putrajaya, the official residence of the Malaysian Prime Minister. 

Megawati and her daughter, Puan Maharani, visited the PM on Tuesday (10/3/2023) around 13:00 local time. Puan Maharani is the current speaker of Indonesian parliament. Megawati's eldest son, M. Rizki Pratama, was also present.

She visited Anwar immeidately after she left Bukit Bintang area of Kuala Lumpur where she met the former Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad.

Upon Megawati's arival at the Seri Perdana Complex, Anwar and Wan Azizah were already waiting in the front foyer of the residence. A number of ministers were in attendance.

Subsequently, Megawati disembarked from her vehicle and received a warm and firm handshake from both Anwar and his wife. The closeness between them was clearly evident and tangible.

In 2004, Anwar also visited Megawati at her resident in Menteng, Central Jakarta. a few years ago Mega and Anwar also met on a campus in Padang, West Sumatra.

Afterward, the Prime Minister of Malaysia extended an invitation to Megawati and her family to have lunch in a designated room

Previously, Megawati and Mahathir Mohamad also engaged in a one-hour conversation. Mega was the president of Indonesia before the end Mahathir's long premiership in early 2000s.

They talked about the weather as well as the ambitious Indonesia's new capital in Kalimantan.

Megawati humorously remarked, "It has been several months without rain in Indonesia. That's why it felt peculiar to witness rain yesterday."

Mahathir joined in the laughter, mentioning that Kuala Lumpur typically experiences clear mornings followed by afternoon showers.

Mahathir, who had recently returned from Medan, expressed his belief that Medan surpasses Kuala Lumpur in size, particularly in terms of population.

"Medan is larger than Kuala Lumpur," he stated.

Mahathir also delved into the extensive and lengthy project of relocating Indonesia's capital to Kalimantan.

"Kuala Lumpur was once congested, prompting us to shift the government center to Putrajaya, a mere 25 kilometers away. It's quite distinct from the IKN project," Mahathir explained, emphasizing that Putrajaya covers an area of less than 50 square kilometers.

The conversation also touched on Indonesia's three time zones and the vastness of Indonesia and its islands.

Meanwhile, Puan addressed the developments in Indonesia's transportation sector, including the high-speed train projects connecting Jakarta to Bandung and Jakarta to Surabaya.

The meeting lasted nearly an hour, and prior to bidding farewell, Mahathir presented one of his books titled "Capturing Hope, The Struggle Continues for a New Malaysia."

Before handing over the book, Mahathir thoughtfully autographed it with the inscription, "to: Mrs. Megawati."

Mahathir concluded the meeting by inviting the delegation to pose together beneath the flags of Indonesia and Malaysia, marking a memorable moment before escorting Megawati and her delegation as they continued their journey to meet with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

Putu Merta Surya Putra contributed to this report.