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PM Anwar Ibrahim charts Malaysia’s course to lead the Global South in the changing international order

January 19, 2025 at 9:49 am

Malaysia’s prime minister Anwar Ibrahim during a lecture at the London School of Economics, UK on 17 January 2025 [@anwaribrahim/X]

One of the burdens of statesmen, like captains at the helm of their ships, is to recognise the changing tides they traverse through, and to then navigate their way through the obstacles and rough currents they may encounter.

That is according to Malaysia’s prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, who – during his official visit to the United Kingdom – stated in a lecture at the London School of Economics (LSE) on Friday that “the world is changing, and many struggle to grasp its implications and their place in the emerging scheme of things”.


Expanding on that changing international order, Ibrahim said that we are “in an era of profound uncertainty, one that is shaped by the will of great powers”, particularly the geopolitical rivalry and “competition” between the United States and China, which “has redefined economies, technologies, and alliances across the globe.”

Stating that economic interdependence between states in the region of south-east Asia and the wider world “now appears fragile”, the Malaysian premier highlighted the increasing occurrence of trade wars, tariffs, and sanctions, which have been “eroding the spirit of cooperation and fostering dangerous mind-sets of suspicion and distrust. Nations are no longer just competitors in the marketplace, they are adversaries in a global contest for influence and dominance.”

Navigating geopolitical rivalries and leading the Global South

Amid that reality, Ibrahim reiterated Kuala Lumpur’s place in that global contest, particularly as a country largely trapped between those great power rivalries. “For smaller states like Malaysia and our neighbours in south-east Asia, the implications are inescapable”, he stressed. “The challenge for us in Malaysia, for example, is not merely to endure but to thrive. We find ourselves compelled to navigate these disruptions with clarity of purpose.”

That navigation primarily consists of maintaining a policy of neutrality between Washington and Beijing, as well as other major players on the world stage, and ensuring that Malaysia and neighbouring small states are not trampled under that rivalry. More than that, however, it entails working towards prospering and developing into regional players in their own right.

“The likelihood of a multipolar world means that centres of global influence will not just be China or the US or Japan or the EU. Instead, count on the emerging players like South Korea, India, the GCC [Gulf Cooperation Council] countries, Turkiye, [and] Brazil”, the Malaysian leader predicted. “And don’t ignore the potential of ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations]”.

The scramble for the Global South: Foreign domination or self-sufficiency?

In that regard, he brought up the topic of the Global South – that loose conglomerate of developing nations historically under the thumb and colonial exploitation of the developed first-world – by pointing out that by 2030, three of the world’s four largest economies will be from amongst those nations.

Affirming Kuala Lumpur’s support for its “brethren” in the Middle East, Africa, and elsewhere in the Global South, Anwar Ibrahim said navigating the great power rivalries and charting its own course “is also about the reclaiming of a voice that can no longer be ignored in the emerging international order”. He insisted that the empowerment of that broad region, its narratives, and its policies “on more equitable terms should not be dismissed or diminished”.

Such a stance was apparently expressed by Malaysia joining the BRICS organisation last year, which the premier said was not to pick a side, but was “about clear-sighted recognition of the geopolitical and geo-economic changes happening around us and expanding our options”.

Charting Malaysia’s course for the future

The leader of Malaysia – who was elected to his position in November 2022, but whose political career spans back decades – then laid out his country’s vision for this complex era and evolving international order. “The best position for Malaysia amid the uncertain ebbs and flows of the strategic tides must be adaptive, resilient, principled and above all clear-sighted. We must know not only what we want but what we are or who we are as a nation. This is imperative as we occupy a critical position in global supply chains as well as maritime trade routes”.

According to Ibrahim, the course that Malaysia will now chart will be firstly to continue fostering growth in trade and being open to commerce and development, especially as the current chair of ASEAN for this year.

Secondly, the country “will continue its open and pragmatic approach in engaging both the US and China, whose relations are anchored in mutual respect and shared interests.” Stating that there is no “zero-sum game” that Malaysia is playing, Ibrahim said that “maintaining robust ties with both the US and China is not merely a matter of economic pragmatism but a strategic imperative to safeguard our national interest in an increasingly volatile world.”

Thirdly, Kuala Lumpur will ensure that its position of competitive trade, finance, and tech “can withstand the changes around us”.

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