Malaysia and Africa’s arc of opportunities

Historic moment: Anwar holding a bilateral meeting with President Ramaphosa (third from left) at the Sandton Convention Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa. — Bernama

IN his classic novel Through the Looking-Glass, Lewis Carroll gives us the oft-cited axiom – that those who “stay put” are, in effect, “moving backwards”, giving rise eventually to the “Red Queen hypothesis” often used as a metaphor to underscore the need for continuous adaptation, innovation, and learning in a rapidly changing world.

Africa is in no danger of falling into the rabbit hole of Alice’s “slow sort of country”. On the contrary, Africa is running fast – adjusting, assimilating, and transforming. The continent’s major countries command growing influence in international politics, its cities hum with commercial energy and its young and vibrant population are raring to take charge of the future.