Why Malaysia supports China’s belt and road

Najib Razak says cooperation in trade and infrastructure-building cements friendships and brings mutual gains, as demonstrated by the projects so far under the auspices of this visionary initiative

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People take pictures of the “Golden Bridge on Silk Road” art installation, set up ahead of the belt and road forum in Beijing this weekend. The forum has an emphasis on mutual discussion, mutual construction and mutual sharing. This is greatly welcomed. Photo: Reuters

Published: 3:30pm, 12 May 2017Updated: 5:32pm, 7 Jul 2017

Three-and-a-half years ago, President Xi Jinping ( 習近平 ) set out his vision of a new Silk Road, a 21st-century reimagining of the historical trading roads that linked East and West, bringing spices and precious goods, knowledge of culture and scholarships to lands far apart. It was a civilising process, and it was a time when the kingdoms and empires of Asia knew that both the treasures of the counting house and the treasures of the mind are best enriched through commerce and discussion, rather than through war, and enforced and unequal treaties.

I am proud to be among the many heads of government and state and other world leaders gathering in Beijing for the Silk Road’s present-day successor – President Xi’s visionary “One Belt, One Road” initiative.

The Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation has an emphasis on mutual discussion, mutual construction and mutual sharing. This is greatly welcomed, and I am confident that the agreements many of the participants, including Malaysia, will be signing will set us on a strong footing for the next phase of this remarkable plan.

A phrase we often hear from China is “win-win cooperation”, and there are those who are sceptical when they hear it. But we in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations can see the truth in it when we consider just some of the game-changing infrastructure projects resulting from the belt and road initiative: for example, the China-Laos railway; the Jakarta-Bandung high-speed railway; the Nakhon Ratchasima-Bangkok high-speed railway; and, for us in Malaysia, the East Coast Rail Link. The rail line will drive connectivity and economic growth for Malaysia’s underdeveloped east coast, and act as a land-bridge enabling cost- and time-efficient transport of goods between Africa, the Middle East and Asia.

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It may seem ridiculous to readers in China or other visitors at the forum, but there are some opposition politicians in my country who say we are selling our sovereignty by agreeing to such projects. But I make no apologies for wanting to build world-class infrastructure for Malaysia that will, with local ownership being preserved, open up huge swathes of our country, bringing more trade and opportunity to our people, thousands of new jobs, improved living standards and prosperity.

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