Anwar pays courtesy call on Chinese President Xi Jinping

Now its time to focus on domestic affairs

Prime minister Anwar Ibrahim has made three official overseas visits to Saudi Arabia, Cambodia, and China within the first week of Ramadan. On his latest trip to China, Anwar gave a keynote speech at the Boao Forum for Asia Annual Conference 2023, meet with primary Muslim Chinese business groups, and paid a courtesy call to Chinese President Xi Jinping in Beijing.

Anwar’s visit to China was arranged at the same time two other prime ministers (Singapore and Spain) were in Beijing to meet with President Xi, along with the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen. This only allowed for Anwar to have a very short bilateral meeting with Xi.

 

Anwar was able to have a bilateral meeting with Singapore’s prime minister Lee Hsien Loong in Hainan, giving hope for an agreement on reinstituting the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore high speed rail.

Anwar opened the way for bilateral trade and it should now be the responsibility of the International Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz to follow up with MATRADE missions, particularly in China, where major cities are now opening their own trading houses, to stimulate international trade into Chinese provinces.

Now time to focus on the domestic agenda

Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional are facing 6 crucial state elections, covering 40 percent of the national voting population within the coming months. Although, there are state issues involved, these state elections will be a de facto-litmus test for Anwar’s ‘unity government’.

Politically, these elections will be crucial and Anwar must make a personal commitment to ensure his coalition wins three states comfortably.

Anwar must lead the charge of his administration towards meeting some very tangible goals over the next 12 months.

With a number of bank collapses within the United States, Europe heading into a recession, and the move away from the US Dollar in international trade, Malaysia must prepare for unstable economic times ahead.

Consequently, the government must prepare the nation for the worst.

Malaysian public debt now stands at RM 1.45 trillion, 81 percent of GDP. This debt blew out during the pandemic, and must be reeled in. Debt reduction requires government savings through improving efficiency within the civil service, developing a broader and more diverse tax base, and eliminating spending leakages.

Europe and the United States are likely to head into a deep recession. Demand must be compensated through expanding trade with China, and other countries within the BRICS block. In addition, domestic demand must be primed through households, rather than through the public sector.

Household demand can be shored up through redistributing income towards the B40. A long-awaited comprehensive welfare safety net is required to push money through to the informal economy to reduce under and unemployment. This is the sector where the incidence of poverty is growing.

This means a radical recalibration of the 12^th Malaysian Plan, which could be undertaken during the mid-term review. Monopolies could be broken up to encourage more competition, which would likely lead to lower prices for consumers. A full package to tackle the rising cost of living must be developed and quickly implemented.

Its necessary to make rural development a major priority. This portfolio is under the deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who should be given this special mission. New economic clusters can be developed of encourage entrepreneurial start-ups, and provide new opportunities for existing SMEs. If the government can make headway here, that may provide them with a ‘popularity dividend’ in the Malay heartlands. This is very much in the ‘unity government’s’ interests.

Finally, Anwar must exercise more control over his cabinet. He needs to mentor the inexperienced. Anwar’s cabinet is the government’s Achilles heel. Anwar needs to spend more time with his ministers.

Let’s hope we see Anwar rolling up his sleeves at home.

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