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Iman Muttaqin Yusof

Malaysia’s search for alternative crude supplies is complicating Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s “friends with all” foreign policy, analysts have said, with the country potentially tapping Russian oil despite Western sanctions against Moscow.
On Thursday, oil prices rose again after Iran declared the Strait of Hormuz closed, 103 days after the US-Israel war with Iran began on February 28. Washington has signalled it wants sanction waivers over Russian oil to end “as soon as possible”.
Economy Minister Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir said on Wednesday that Malaysia was looking at new sources, including Russia and Turkey, after Anwar called for the country to widen its supply options as the Middle East conflict continues to rattle key oil-producing regions.
“We need to look at whether our facilities are ready to process these supplies. Crude oil from different regions has different characteristics,” Akmal told local reporters.
“It is not just about sourcing from everywhere, but ensuring the supply is suitable for our facilities,” he said, noting that state energy firm Petronas would play a key role in assessing whether domestic refineries could handle crude from different origins.
Akmal said Malaysia had secured enough fuel supply until the end of July and rejected suggestions of a looming shortage.
The government was wary of locking itself into long-term deals while global prices remained volatile, with the next update on supply security expected by the end of June, he added.
“We do not want to enter into agreements that are too long and then find ourselves tied down if there are significant changes in oil prices in the market.”

Crude reality
The urgency for Malaysia has grown as the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow Gulf chokepoint where a large share of global oil and gas shipments pass through, remains central to the energy crisis.
Malaysia is less exposed to the crisis than some of its neighbours. Petronas president and group CEO Tengku Muhammad Taufik Tengku Aziz said in April that almost 40 per cent of Malaysia’s crude imports passed through the strait, compared with nearly 90 per cent for other Asean countries that relied on the route.
He said Malaysia’s domestic crude output had fallen from more than 700,000 barrels per day in the 1990s and early 2000s to an estimated 350,000 barrels per day, while Petronas’ refining system needed about 700,000 barrels per day to meet domestic demand.
Brent crude rose to US$94.58 a barrel on Thursday morning in Singapore after Iran said any vessel attempting to pass through the strait would be fired upon, compared with about US$73 before the start of the conflict.
The US military said commercial ships were still moving in and out of the strait and denied Iranian state media reports that US warships had been struck.
The crisis has complicated Washington’s position on Russian crude. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee last week that Washington wanted to end temporary waivers allowing limited access to Russian oil, although the final decision rests with the US Treasury Department.
“We would like to end it as soon as we possibly can, because the underlying policy of this country has been to sanction their oil,” Rubio said, according to Shipping Telegraph, noting that the waivers were “time-limited” and intended to open up more global supply.

This could complicate plans by Malaysia and other Asian buyers to explore buying Russian oil, according to analysts. While the oil might offer a buffer against supply disruption from the Gulf, it remained politically charged more than four years after Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, they added.
Crude from Africa could give Malaysia another non-Gulf option, while supplies from Turkey would be in line with the two countries’ efforts to deepen trade, energy, defence and hi-tech cooperation.
Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani, associate vice-president at The Asia Group, a Washington-based strategic advisory firm, said such a move would bolster Malaysia’s foreign policy of geopolitical hedging.
Malaysia has long tried to preserve room for manoeuvre between rival powers, maintaining close trade and security ties with the US and Europe while keeping strong relations with China, Russia and the wider Global South.
“The difference now is that energy security is forcing those principles into more politically sensitive territory,” Asrul said. “Since the Russia-Ukraine conflict began, Russian crude has become intertwined with broader geopolitical competition, making Malaysia’s traditional balancing act more challenging as economic decisions increasingly attract strategic scrutiny.”
He added that a “friends with all” approach became costly when commercial decisions entailed political consequences.
“In this case, the issue is not simply whether Malaysia can source cheaper or more reliable crude,” he said. “It is whether doing so creates new diplomatic sensitivities with partners who see Russian-linked energy trade as inseparable from the war in Ukraine.”
There is also the “domestic political calculation” that Anwar has to consider as he faces financial reforms, state elections and a fuel subsidy burden that could grow if prices climb further, according to Asrul.
“It is pragmatism with a deadline.”


Russia returns
Julia Roknifard, senior lecturer in international relations at Taylor’s University, said Southeast Asia had become an important area of engagement for Russia as Moscow sought new markets after losing European buyers.
“Russia is also seen as a potential third partner besides China and the US,” she said. “This is a continuation of the hedging strategy that most Asean states work with, as relying too much on any one party opens them to various risks, especially hostility from one major power or the other.”
She said Russia had commodities beyond energy to offer Southeast Asia, including wheat, grains and other agricultural products, and would see the disruption in Hormuz as an opening to strengthen ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
“Asean represents an even bigger consumer base than Europe and it comes with significantly less risk as there are no competing national or security interests between Russia and Asean,” she said.
But the murkier side of the energy trade that is reportedly linked to Russia has been extended to Malaysian waters. In April, two tankers were intercepted off Penang over an alleged illegal transfer of about 700,000 litres of diesel.
This Week in Asia reported last week that Asia’s oil demand had forced some governments to disregard Russian crude moving east through “dark fleet” tankers as a security issue, even as sanction risks grew.

Joanne Lin Weiling, senior fellow and coordinator at the ISEAS – Yusof Ishak Institute’s Asean Studies Centre, said many Southeast Asian governments would frame the issue as “a technical and commercial decision” aimed at keeping energy supplies stable and prices manageable.
Still, Russian-linked supply could expose companies to scrutiny from banks, insurers, shippers and sanction-imposing authorities, Lin said.
“Even where purchases are legally permissible, companies may face higher compliance costs, more complex financing arrangements and greater uncertainty over future regulations,” she said.
“Russian crude may be a useful buffer against supply disruptions now, but it is not a long-term solution to energy security challenges.”


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Malaysia’s hunt for Russian oil tests Anwar’s ‘friends with all’ policy

Oil pouring from a barrel. Malaysia is seeking new oil sources, including Russia and Turkey. Photo: Shutterstock

Vessels anchored in the Strait of Hormuz as seen from Musandam, Oman, on Monday. Photo: Reuters

A man fills his car at a petrol station in Port Dickson, Negeri Sembilan. Rising oil prices have put pressure on Malaysia’s subsidy programme. Photo: EPA

Reservoirs of Russian oil giant OAO Rosneft at Priobskoye oilfield near Nefteyugansk in western Siberia. Photo: AP

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Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (right) and her Malaysian counterpart, Anwar Ibrahim, shake hands at the end a joint press announcement at the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo on Wednesday. Photo: Reuters

The prime ministers of Japan Sanae Takaichi (right) and Malaysia Anwar Ibrahim (left) attend a bilateral meeting at the Prime Minister’s Office in Tokyo on Wednesday. Photo: EPA

The logo of Malaysian energy group Petronas is displayed at its booth during the LNG 2023 energy trade show in Vancouver. Photo: Reuters

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Russia’s “shadow fleet” vessels wait in the unofficial anchorage area in the Gulf of Finland near Vaindloo, Estonia, on April 10. Photo: Reuters

The Eagle S tanker (left) is suspected of belonging to Russia’s “shadow fleet” and playing a role in the sabotage of a Baltic undersea cable. Photo: AFP

Singapore’s Defence Minister Chan Chun Sing (centre) with representatives from 16 partner countries during the launch of the Guiding Principles for Underwater Infrastructure Defence Exchanges at the Shangri-La Dialogue on Saturday. Photo: Singapore’s Ministry of Defence

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US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer speaks with reporters at the White House in April. Photo: Reuters 

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Singapore’s Prime Minister Lawrence Wong listens to the keynote speech at the IISS Shangri-la Dialogue security summit in Singapore last month. Photo: Reuters

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Sourcing crude from Moscow to counter Middle East supply shocks risks drawing a backlash from the West


Sourcing crude from Moscow to counter Middle East supply shocks risks drawing a backlash from the West.


Malaysia’s hunt for Russian oil tests Anwar’s ‘friends with all’ policy

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Sourcing crude from Moscow to counter Middle East supply shocks risks drawing a backlash from the West

Sourcing crude from Moscow to counter Middle East supply shocks risks drawing a backlash from the West