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View all search resultsPro-trade is Anwar Ibrahim's foreign policy doctrine
As with many of its ASEAN neighbors, Malaysia is navigating fierce competition for FDIs to develop the country while skirting US-Chinese trade tensions sin the wider Indo-Pacific.
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Chinese President Xi Jinping (right) welcomes Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim on March 31, 2023 at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing.
(Xinhua/Rao Aimin)
W
hether it is by design or tradition, Malaysia’s foreign policy is often based on the preferences of the prime minister. Thus, notwithstanding the fact that Malaysia has a foreign minister, the key driver of the country’s foreign policy, or even defense policy, is undoubtedly Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's prerogative.
While no one has written any academic tracts on the foreign policy template, indeed, the main pillars of Anwar's foreign policy have echoed the belief that Malaysia has moved closer than ever to China. Yet there are others who believe that his foreign policy has failed.
Writing on June 10in World Politics Review, Joshua Kurtlanzick, Southeast Asia fellow at the Council for Foreign Relations, had this to say: "Anwar has taken the harshest position of any leader in Southeast Asia on the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Meanwhile, he has failed to defend Malaysia’s security interests against China’s encroachments strongly enough, yet does not seem poised to attract a flood of Chinese investment either."
On June 24, Anwar was quoted by AP as saying: "People say, well, Malaysia is a growing economy. Don’t let China abuse its privilege and extort from the country. I said no. To the contrary, we want to benefit from one another, we want to learn from one another and we want to profit from this engagement."
Anwar made almost similar remarks to some 200 business leaders at a luncheon attended by Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang during his visit to Malaysia last month.
However, if readers can understand the larger context, perhaps view toward Anwar's engagement of China can be better understood.
First and foremost, he wants Chinese President Xi Jinping to visit Malaysia twice by 2025, one on a bilateral basis while the other strictly multilateral in nature, as and when Malaysia is ASEAN chair and hosts the East Asian Summit.
