ALBAWABA - The wife of Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has been the talk of the internet after she refused to shake hands with Chinese President Xi Jinping.
A video that went viral on social media showed Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, the wife of the Malaysian PM, during the SCO meeting in China, as she was coming to have a family photo along with her husband, Anwar Ibrahim.
Anwar Ibrahim, who was steps ahead of his wife, shook hands with Xi, but Wan Azizah Wan Ismail was spotted with her hands positioned in a gesture of greeting or respect, as a way to show her rejection to shake hands with the Chinese president.
Chinese President Xi Jinping (R) shaking hands with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim. (Video screenshot/ X)
In the clip, Xi got closer to shake hands with Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, but she refused and instead she extended her hand to say hello to the Chinese president's wife, Peng Liyuan.
Many comments emerged on social media regarding the Malaysian PM's wife, with some saying that it is a normal thing in the Islamic culture, which prohibits women from shaking hands with strange men.
A person said, "It might just be a culture thing." Another commented, "Nothing unusual if one understands Islamic culture as it is still practiced in some Islamic countries: a woman does not touch a man outside the circle of her family. Unfortunate that this was not explained to President Xi Jinping beforehand."
An X user wrote, "but she softly bowed to China's President Xi, which was an even greater gesture of honor. "
