MALAYSIA’S 10th Prime Minister (PMX) may be jetting around but Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s visits to these countries are part of his efforts to strengthen bilateral ties and to enhance economic and political cooperation to resolve issues affecting the region.
Within the first six months of his administration, Anwar has visited Turkiye and Saudi Arabia in the Middle East; China in East Asia and six ASEAN countries: Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Cambodia.
His visit to Saudi Arabia is probably the one trip that received the most brickbats.
Although there will always be naysayers such as former PM Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, PMX is leveraging on his charisma and personal insights in line with the concept of guānxì (building connection) to build bridges with both regional and international leaders in order to propel Malaysia into greater heights.
It is popularly believed by the Chinese that the wheels of business are lubricated with guānxì, a concept popularised by Chinese philosopher Confucius.
Anwar is known to be a fan of Confucius since young, having read the collection of books by Confucius in his own father, the late Datuk Ibrahim Rahman’s, private library.
During his first visit to China in his capacity as Deputy Prime Minister in 1994, Anwar had organised his entourage to visit Qifu, the birthplace of Confucius because, according to veteran journalist Wong Chun Wai, Anwar had “wanted to feel for himself how and why the philosopher had been credited for the economic success of East Asian countries such as Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore.” (The Star, Sept 11, 1994).
Universiti Malaya’s Institute of China Studies’ director Ngeow Chow Bing has made an interesting observation about Anwar’s second and most recent visit to China in April this year, citing that Anwar has “a peculiar “civilisational lens” in approaching China, and this is indeed borne out by the readout of this visit.” (Think China, May 9, 2023)
The official visits to these nine countries will become the impetus for greater economic growth following the positive growth in the last two quarters of last year.
In a TikTok video that is being circulated on social media, we have verified that Bloomberg reported that “Malaysia grew at the quickest pace in more than two decades in 2022 as pent-up demand helped the nation take the mantle of the fastest-growing economy in Asia even if the title is likely to be short-lived.”
Numerous business deals have been inked during these trips. His visit to China to meet the country’s two top leaders Xi Jinping and Li Qiang, for example, has secured a record RM170 bil worth of investment commitment from China.
Of the amount, International Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz said RM100.33 bil in investments will come from major corporations in China while another RM69.74 bil worth of investments commitment are the outcome of 19 memoranda of understanding (MOU) sealed between businesses in China and Malaysia during the visit.
Anwar’s visit to Indonesia has seen eight memoranda of understanding (MOUs) worth a total of RM1.16 bil inked between the private sectors of both countries, Indonesia and Malaysia.
Meanwhile, Anwar’s trips to Turkiye and Brunei were to renew old friendships. Turkiye President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a long-time friend of Anwar while Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah of Brunei personally visited Dr Mahathir and anxiously enquired why Anwar was sacked in 1998.
With a stronger bilateral relationship with other ASEAN countries, we believe Malaysia is better poised to be a key player to regional peace and prosperity. – June 9, 2023
Pic credit: Cincinatti Moms blog
