The Prime Minister of Malaysia, YAB Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, received a visit from the Leimena Institute represented by Senior Fellows Dr. Alwi Shihab and Prof. Dr. Amin Abdullah, as well as the Executive Director of the Leimena Institute, Matius Ho, on the sidelines of the National Journalists’ Day in Kuala Lumpur, June 14, 2025.
Jakarta, LKLB News – The Leimena Institute conducted a preliminary visit to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on June 11–14, 2025 in order to pursue partnerships for the Cross-Cultural Religious Literacy (CCRL) program in the ASEAN region. In this visit, the Leimena Institute had the honor of meeting directly with the Prime Minister of Malaysia, YAB Dato’ Seri Anwar Ibrahim, and the Minister of Higher Education of Malaysia, Dato’ Seri Diraja Dr. Zamry Abd Kadir.
The Leimena Institute delegation to Malaysia was led by Executive Director Matius Ho, along with Program Director Daniel Adipranata, Program Officer Mishael Arviano, and two Senior Fellows of the Leimena Institute, Former Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Dr. Alwi Shihab and Member of the Steering Committee of the Agency for Pancasila Ideology Development (BPIP), Prof. Amin Abdullah.
In the meeting with PM Anwar and Dr. Zamry, both figures gave high appreciation for the programs of the Leimena Institute in Indonesia. PM Anwar also welcomed various opportunities for collaboration between Indonesia and Malaysia in order to build an inclusive and cohesive society.
Matius Ho said that the visit of the Leimena Institute is particularly relevant with the adoption of the ASEAN Vision 2045, which is a long-term strategic blueprint prepared by ASEAN member states as a guide for the development of the region over the next 10 years. This document is a continuation and refinement of ASEAN Vision 2025.
“In ASEAN Vision 2045, which was officially adopted in Kuala Lumpur on May 26, 2025 by Malaysia as ASEAN Chair 2025, the words ‘Cross-Cultural Religious Literacy’ are explicitly mentioned,” said Matius to CCRL News.
Prime Minister of Malaysia, Anwar Ibrahim, welcomed the initiative of the Leimena Institute in the Cross-Cultural Religious Literacy program in Indonesia.
ASEAN Vision 2045 mentions cross-cultural religious literacy in Strategic Measure 9.7 to create an inclusive and cohesive ASEAN Community in accordance with Strategic Goal 9, which states: “Promote activities and programmes to strengthen the culture of peace, inter alia, respect for diversity, promotion of tolerance and understanding of faith, religion and culture, including through conducting a series of cross-cultural religious literacy programmes …”
Matius stated that the visit of the Leimena Institute to Malaysia aimed to observe the local context and expand networks of cooperation that support the development of the CCRL program at the regional level. Furthermore, the ability of people from different religious backgrounds to live peacefully side by side and work productively together is a key element in achieving the goals of ASEAN.
“In the series of meetings, the Leimena Institute also discussed the important role of CCRL in shaping a shared ASEAN identity based on common goals and values as set forth in the ASEAN Charter,” he continued.
The Dinner with the Minister of Higher Education of Malaysia, Dato’ Seri Diraja Dr. Zambry Abdul Kadir, was also attended by the Rector of the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Prof. Dr. Osman Bakar, Prof. Imtiyaz Yusuf (Lecturer, IIUM), Ahmad Azam Ab Rahman (President, WADAH), and Prof. Dr. Mohamed Azam Mohamed Adil (Director General, IKIM), in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, June 13, 2025.
During the four days, the Leimena Institute held meetings with the leaders of organizations and institutions, namely the President of Wadah Pencerdasan Umat Malaysia (WADAH), Dato’ Haji Ahmad Azam Ab Rahman; the Director General of the Institute of Islamic Understanding Malaysia (IKIM), Assoc. Prof. Dato’ Dr. Mohamed Azam Mohamed Adil; and the Rector of the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), YB Dato’ Prof. Dr. Osman Bakar.
WADAH is a civil society organization focusing on the development of critical thinking, education, and community empowerment, while IKIM is a national institution that promotes the understanding of moderate Islam, and IIUM is one of the leading universities in Southeast Asia known as a center of international Islamic studies.
The exploration of the CCRL program by the Leimena Institute in the ASEAN region has so far been carried out in several countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, and most recently the Philippines. This effort is made to support the realization of the ASEAN vision through concrete cross-border collaboration in Southeast Asia.