Malaysia’s Hormuz Win: Dr Mahathir Built The Door, Anwar Walked Through It

Malaysia secured toll-free passage for its oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz — a diplomatic win credited to both PMX’s active outreach to Tehran and Dr Mahathir’s four decades of quiet relationship-building with Iran.

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When Malaysian oil tankers were granted toll-free passage through the Strait of Hormuz recently, two names immediately dominated the conversation: Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

Supporters of each claimed the win for their man, but the truth is less tidy — and more interesting.

Iran did not extend goodwill to Malaysia in 2026 out of nowhere.

When Iran emerged from its war with Iraq in 1988, it was economically battered and diplomatically isolated.

Major powers kept their distance, but Malaysia, then under Dr Mahathir, did not.

Kuala Lumpur supplied palm oil through special barter arrangements that bypassed the US dollar and offered cooperation in development and trade with no visible conditions attached.

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The Call That Secured It

That quiet, decades-long relationship — maintained even as Western sanctions tightened around Tehran — is widely credited as the foundation for the access Malaysia enjoys today.

But foundations do not move tankers.

On 26 March, Anwar spoke directly with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, expressing Malaysia’s appreciation for allowing its oil tankers through the strait.

Days earlier, he had met Iran’s Ambassador Valiollah Mohammadi on the sidelines of the Kuala Lumpur–Ankara Dialogue.

Malaysia subsequently confirmed its vessels were passing through toll-free — a significant outcome at a time of heightened regional tensions involving the United States and Israel.

Ketemu Duta Besar Republik Islam Iran ke Malaysia, Valiollah Mohammadi, di sela-sela Kuala Lumpur–Ankara Dialogue awal hari ini.

Dalam suasana ketidaktentuan susulan krisis Asia Barat, saya menzahirkan penghargaan Malaysia atas keputusan Iran membenarkan kapal minyak negara… pic.twitter.com/VzaXgaHRmA
— Anwar Ibrahim (@anwaribrahim) April 7, 2026

What the Hormuz Win Doesn’t Settle

Claims that Iran had imposed an RM8 million toll on Malaysian vessels were traced back not to a government statement, but to a comment by a government MP — subsequently amplified into a misleading headline.

The MP himself struck a measured tone: if taxpayer money is involved, the government must be transparent and accountable.

Some analysts have noted that Iran may be using passage rights as political leverage, rewarding countries that maintain ties with Tehran as pressure from Washington mounts.

Securing passage through the Strait of Hormuz matters, but it does not answer what Malaysia’s energy planners are increasingly being asked: how long can the country sustain itself on oil?

Petronas has assured domestic supply through May and June, enough to weather the current disruption, but Malaysia’s proven reserves at current consumption levels are projected to last only 10 to 15 years.

The Hormuz passage buys time; it does not buy more oil.

In that sense, this is less a story about energy security and more a story about how much longer Malaysia can afford to treat oil as the answer.

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The Clock Is Still Running

Malaysia is getting its oil through; that much is confirmed.

How much of that is owed to a phone call made last month, and how much to a relationship quietly tended over four decades, is a question with no clean answer — and one that both sides of Malaysia’s political divide are currently answering in the most convenient way possible.

It is worth remembering that this relationship has never been without cost: during his 2018–2020 tenure as Prime Minister, Dr Mahathir Mohamad described U.S. sanctions on Iran as illegal under international law, even as those same sanctions forced Malaysian banks to close accounts of Iranian individuals and companies, cutting off trade with a market Malaysia had long courted.

The Hormuz win is real, the applause is earned, but the clock against which it is buying time is moving faster than the headlines suggest.

On Tuesday (7 April), the United States struck Kharg Island — Iran’s oil lifeline — targeting military installations and air defences across more than 50 identified sites.

It was not the first blow; Trump had claimed in March to have bombed every military target on the island, making this latest assault part of an escalating pattern rather than a single event.

Kharg Island handles the overwhelming bulk of Iran’s oil exports, which means every strike there is not just a military calculation — it is a pressure point on the very supply chain Malaysia has just worked to secure.