It seems that few countries are not involved in some way with the expansive China-led One Belt, One Road initiative, and Malaysia is no exception.
The Southeast Asian country is home to two large scale projects falling under the umbrella of OBOR: a high-speed rail linking Singapore with China’s Yunnan Province and a major trading port located in the Malacca Straits.
Malaysian Minister of Transport Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai writes for the Star that fears of China using OBOR to undermine the country’s national sovereignty are misplaced. Far from it, Tiong Lai argues that the initiative gives Malaysia a chance to realize its economic goals.
“The projects that we are currently embarking on are not white elephants, as criticized by some, but a powerful economic vehicle waiting to be unleashed to unlock Malaysia’s true potential,” said Tiong Lai.
I have a lot of faith in Malaysia’s potential provided it does nothing stupid like poison its agriculture with GMO, or get indebted to predatory finacing such as the IMF & World Bank or corrupted by Israeli blackmail & extortion…
Malaysia should build its future with its good neighbors in the ASEAN community and extend through the Silk Road initiative across Asia & Eurasia. That is the growth story this next 50 years.