It appears that much pressure was imposed on the Turkish government to resolve the standoff generated by Anwar’s presence at the Embassy.

The statement by Rais Yatim after his meeting with Turkish ambassador Barlas Ozener was significant of a one man dialogue:

"The ambassador is of the view that he would like Anwar to be out of the premises as soon as possible, as congenially as possible," Rais said while the Malaysian press did not hear any word from the Turkish ambassador himself.

The question is whether the Turkish ambassador was represented by the Malaysian Minister to inform the press that Turkey did not want Anwar on its ‘territory’.

Furthermore, the Malaysian Minister’s statement regarding the Turkish embassy being a Turkish territory and that no Malaysians should hide within its compound to avoid local laws were totally out of context, said an observer to WorldFutures.

It is tantamount to preventing political refugees from seeking help from other parties, just like in Myanmar or Zimbabwe. In the past, Malaysia prevented Myanmar refugees from seeking refuge in the United Nations office in Kuala Lumpur, a move heavily criticized by the entire world.

In a democratic system, a political leader has the absolute right to choose an Embassy to lock himself up in the event of persecution by the authorities and in the Anwar Ibrahim case, it looked exactly like a new wave of persecution was underway to undermine his political career.

Indeed the Malaysian police should act faster to prevent any political activists from entering the compound of any Embassy to seek refuge but once the refugee sets foot on the Embassy compound, the government has to tread carefully in its tone and language used.

In the case of the Turkish Embassy, the Malaysian government seemed to be acting like the dictating voice, the observer said. “This gives the impression that Wisma Putra was putting pressure on the Turks to oust Anwar from the Turkish Embassy compound.

Perhaps the Turkish ambassador met with Rais Yatim to negotiate a way out of the crisis. Defusing the crisis amicably was one fine diplomatic option and it must be said the Turks did exactly that.

Anwar told reporters after leaving the Turkish Embassy said he had sought refuge there because he feared for his life after police said they were investigating him for sodomy.

He went to the Turkish Embassy and said he would stay there until the government could guarantee his safety. Anwar, 60, denies the allegations of sodomy against him, which he says are designed to block his political resurgence. His lawyers have now filed a libel suit against his 23-year-old male accuser.

Turkey said the acceptance of Anwar's demands did not have any political objective. "Malaysia had been informed that Anwar's demand to (take refuge) was accepted only for humanitarian reasons, and is not of any political nature," the foreign ministry said in a statement on Monday.

The more so for the Malaysian government to restrain itself from accusing Turkey, a major business and trade partner to Malaysia, of meddling in the local affairs of the country! It is clear that Malaysia did not handle the affair well and it will remain a stain in the relationship with Turkey.

Turkey stands to lose more than Malaysia in the event of a crisis between the two nations. There is a strong Turkish presence in the country with many Turkish citizens having their own shops and other businesses in the country. Several Turkish nationals have married to locals and have their children born in Malaysia too. A diplomatic crisis between Malaysia and Turkey puts these people in a bad situation as they could become the pawns in a dangerous game of influence.

The Turkish government has a lot at stake in Malaysia with investments in several sectors and it is counting on its good relationship with Malaysia to pursue its wish to lead the Muslim world out of the current political crisis it is immersed into. Hence it was for the Turks to ‘abide’ to the Malaysian demands however excessive they may have been.

"The ambassador is of the view that he would like Anwar to be out of the premises as soon as possible, as congenially as possible," Rais said, yet the Turks remained silent. Was it diplomatic for the Malaysians to speak for the Turks? This amount to yet another fault in the Malaysian diplomatic approach and in the flip-flop foreign policy of the country since Abdullah Ahmad Badawi became Prime Minister.

But Anwar denied he had been forced out, and told the Associated Press he had made the decision to leave after the government had made "all the undertakings to assure (his) personal safety".

It is rare in the world’s history that a former Foreign Affairs minister accedes to the post of Prime Minister and it is for apparent reasons that this is not practiced. Malaysia’s foreign policy became less fluid and more entangled in pro-American policies after Mahathir left the Prime Minister’s post.

With Rais Yatim as Foreign Minister, the country may be heading for a ‘cultural’ clogging with other nations – remember Rais was the Minister of Arts and Culture (KEKWA) before his nomination to the post of Foreign Affairs Minister.

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