With GE15 coinciding with the Asean and Apec summits, Putrajaya’s active participation at the leaders’ level amid global turmoil will surely be missed.
TWO important summits are taking place back to back in the region this week: the Asean summit in Phnom Penh and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) in Bangkok. Malaysia is a member of these two groupings.
In between these summits – no less important although Malaysia is not a participant – is the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Bali.
All these summits involve major powers like China, Japan, the United States and Russia.
Since the summits clash with the 15th General Election, no Malaysian leader will be attending the Asean or Apec summit.
For Asean, Malaysia has sent a government’s special representative, Dewan Rakyat speaker Tan Sri Azizan Harun, while for Apec, no announcement has been made yet by the International Trade and Industry Ministry. It is understood there is a directive from the Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali, discouraging secretaries-general from travelling overseas during the GE15 period.
A lot of work was done at the officials and ministerial level because at the summit level, leaders will endorse or iron out very contentious issues that cannot be resolved at the officials or ministerial level. Asean is very important because it is the backbone of our foreign policy. This is our region, this is our neighbourhood.
The Asean summit is the highest level of forum for Asean. A leader’s presence reflects a country’s priorities and the dynamism of its foreign policy.
Regardless of the level of representation, the person must be able to be stand guided by the prepared brief and talking points when he/she sits with other Asean leaders. It is a tiring long process with back-to-back meetings all crammed within days.
This is not the first time a special representative was sent on behalf of the government. In 2013, Senate president Tan Sri Abu Zahar Ujang was Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s special representative for the Asean Summit in Brunei as Najib too was focusing on the general election back then.
The Asean and Apec summits are important as countries need to deal with issues and find ways to cooperate amid the uncertainties and impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Already, the Apec region is seeing a slowdown in economic growth due to soaring inflation, a protracted war in Ukraine and heightened uncertainties.
Within Asean itself, the worsening situation in Myanmar continues to plague the 10-member grouping. Min Aung Hlaing, the head of Myanmar’s military junta, again has not been invited to the summit. Myanmar has also rejected the invitation to send a non-political representative to the summit hosted by Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen.
Another interesting development is taking place on Nov 17: a ruling will be handed down by the Dutch court handling the murder trial of four suspects in the downing of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 over Ukraine in 2014. Prosecutors have said that the one Ukrainian and three Russian defendants, who are all still at large, helped supply a missile system that Russian-backed separatists used to fire a rocket at the plane on July 17, 2014. All 298 people on board were killed. The prosecution is seeking life terms for all suspects.
Caretaker Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakub indicated in September that any action by the government would depend on the ruling.
Like any Malaysian, I have been reading through the manifestos offered by political parties for GE15.
Pakatan Harapan was the earliest to announce its manifesto, even before nomination day, while Perikatan Nasional, Barisan Nasional and Gerakan Tanah Air released theirs last week. No surprise – amidst all the promises on national issues such as education and health to win votes, foreign issues seem to take a back seat.
This is far from unique to Malaysia. Even at the just recently concluded US midterm elections, the main campaign issue was the economy. Everywhere in the world, when the economy is not doing that great, bread-and-butter concerns always become hot button election issues.
Barisan’s manifesto did address the case of territorial sovereignty of Pedra Branca/Batu Puteh, saying the coalition will follow up on the report prepared by the special task force set up by the government. This refers to the announcement by Ismail Sabri that the Cabinet had agreed to proceed with legal action at the International Court of Justice to review laws in relation to an application for revision and interpretation in the Batu Puteh case.
Should foreign matters be made an election issue? Many foreign issues are complex and must be looked at from different angles, and if it involves the question of sovereignty, politicising it will not be helpful if they get involved just to win votes.
Still, whatever the outcome of this general election, the new government must be able to protect our national interests and pursue a consistent principled position.
In the last few years, too much politicking has taken a toll on Malaysian diplomacy when priorities and decisions made are questionable. Malaysia’s voice is less heard on the global stage these days, but even if anyone from Malaysia speaks, how many will listen? Are we being taken seriously enough internationally?
The new government to be formed after Nov 19 does not have to look far. President Joko Widodo has taken Indonesia to a different level on international platforms and he has filled the regional leadership vacuum at the expense of Putrajaya. And by the way, it is Indonesia’s turn as Asean chair in 2023.
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