Improving Malaysia-China economic relations

While many Malaysians are understandably wary of a

Various media reports and even remarks by some close to the new government of Malaysia imply that it will be antagonistic to improving economic relations with China. This grossly misrepresents the popular Malaysian rejection of the corrupt kleptocracy that ruled the country in the last decade.

To be sure, all Malaysian governments since independence in 1957 have invited foreign direct investment (FDI). For decades, some of us have been concerned with the Malaysian government’s seemingly uncritical view of foreign investments. However, to be fair, Prime Ministers Tun Abdul Razak Hussein and Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad were, in fact, quite circumspect.