By Wong Chen
From 24th June to 18th July, we had our 2nd session of Parliament for the year 2024. It was a particularly busy session for me, with a total of 21 meetings over the said period. The session was fraught with many political issues but the overall political temperature has cooled somewhat. There are no more talks of the toppling of the Madani government and we seem to be entering a period of good political stability.
Despite the political stability, I find it vexatious that many reforms are still pending. For instance, the much-anticipated Parliamentary Services Act (PSA) bill did not materialise this July session. Many reformists are still hoping that the cabinet will keep its promise and pass the PSA in October 2024 before the tabling of Budget 2025. What most reformist MPs are unhappy with, is that while the PSA is given a snail pace approach, the recent and controversial bill to license social media platforms seems to be driven at an accelerated pace. As of today, MPs have not been told what the salient terms of the proposed controversial bill are.
As Chairman of the Parliamentary Special Select Committee on International Relations and International Trade, half of my job is to consider foreign policy issues. The other half of my job is to help increase trade with Malaysia and also bring foreign investments into Malaysia. As such, I am a firm believer in nuanced moderation when it comes to foreign and trade policy. While, I acknowledge that we have had the global limelight in the 1980s and 1990s as one of the champions of developing countries, the state of Malaysia that we are in today is not economically nor fiscally great.
The truth is, our prominence in the global stage is a fundamental reflection of our own domestic situation, which is fraught with systemic problems and challenges. If we want to aspire to be a global or even a regional leader (we chair ASEAN next year in 2025), we need to first sort out our own domestic issues. We need to have a more robust economy, and we need to redouble efforts to stamp out corruption and improve governance. If and when we have a good handle on our economy, resulting in Malaysia becoming more prosperous, the rest of the world will naturally look at us more positively. Only then, can we project a more robust foreign policy that the world will respect and admire. Until then, we will be limited by budgetary constraints and as such we need to practice what I term as a nuanced moderation approach. The truth is, no country will take us seriously if we shout from a rotten platform of poverty and corruption.
So, what is this nuanced moderation approach? If we don’t have a big budget to spend on diplomacy, then we need to be more focused on just a few issues, where we can actually make a difference without too much expenditure. A lack of funding will also mean that we need to adopt more moderate foreign policy views and channel more efforts into getting investments into Malaysia.
Currently, we have no choice but to remain steadfastly neutral and when needed, to continue to align ourselves with the majority of the global south, which is our traditional default position. By being under the cover of the majority, we should be shielded from controversies that may unduly upset the super powers and their investors. The global geo-political tension is expected to increase in the coming years, a nuanced approach is essential.
Lastly, in my last SJ Echo article, I wrote that Malaysia’s economic prospects have improved of late. Thankfully this trend is continuing in the month of July. As I write this article on the 2nd of August 2024, I note that the ringgit has appreciated significantly against the US Dollar and is currently at RM4.50 to USD1. This makes the Malaysian currency the best performer in the region in the last six months. As foreign investments continue to flow into Malaysia, we are expecting the ringgit to further improve. Things are definitely looking more positive than a year ago. We just need to make sure that our foreign and investment policy continues to attract investments for the next few years.
