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New dawn for Malaysia-China ties
In May this year, Malaysia opened a new chapter in history when its voters chose change and elected the Pakatan Harapan government into office.
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China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi (left) meets Malaysian politician Anwar Ibrahim at the Diaoyutai State Guesthouse in Beijing on Wednesday. (Reuters/Pool/Daisuke Suzuki)
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n May this year, Malaysia opened a new chapter in history when its voters chose change and elected the Pakatan Harapan government into office. The new government has demonstrated clearly that the country has not forsaken its partners — in particular, China.
This is even more evident with Anwar Ibrahim’s visit to the dragon state.
First, to address the elephant in the room: the cancellations of the East Coast Rail Line (ECRL) and two gas pipelines and the postponement of the High-Speed Rail (HSR) link with Singapore. Though the moves may have irked Chinese leaders, it cannot be emphasized enough that they were made primarily with the government’s bleeding coffers in mind.
The irresponsible manner, in which such deals was hammered out during the time of former prime minister Najib Razak, necessitated a serious look back at the financing and implementation of such projects that cost taxpayers billions of ringgits.
