Add this to your fact-of-the-day list: Malaysia’s new prime minister Dato Sri Anwar Ibrahim has a total of six children with Datin Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and among these children, one of them is married to a Japanese man. Therefore, our new prime minister has actual Japanese relatives. Konnichiwa!
Just recently, the new prime minister’s youngest daughter, Nurul Ilham Anwar, posted a photo on social media of her Japanese father-in-law enjoying a Malaysian favourite, Durian. Although this is not really a secret, this revelation is such a nice surprise!
For your information, the prime minister’s daughter is married to a mixed-race individual – a half-Pakistan, half-Japanese man named Mitsuru Watanabe or better known as Nabe. So when Nurul Ilham posted a photo of her father-in-law, people are shocked to see that the Anwar family tree is so diverse!
Along with the Instagram post, the caption goes; “Guys, my Japanese father in law enjoying some durians“. With a smiling face, the Japanese elderly man seems to be savouring the King of Fruits. But surprisingly, many Malaysians are aware of who this man is. The father-in-law is apparently working as a Japanese language instructor! No wonder he has such a good reaction to the infamous Durian!
Scrolling through the Instagram comment section, many comments are simple hearts and smiles, saying that he is cute! One funny comment says; “So cute… After this, let him try Petai“, another Malaysian delicacy. Many comments mentioned him as “Watanabe Sensei” which means teacher in Japanese.
It is also worth mentioning that Anwar’s firstborn – Nurul Izzah Anwar – is also in an interracial marriage. Adding to the already-diverse Anwar family tree, the ‘Reformation Princess’ had her second marriage with Yin Shao Loong, a former Selangor state government official.
Source: Instagram
Puteri Teja contributed to this article.
