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Anwar Ibrahim, Malaysia’s prime minister, has played down concerns that Donald Trump will usher in a long period of economic turmoil in Asia by imposing high tariffs, arguing that after an initial shock the global trading system will continue as before.
In an interview with the Financial Times, the 77-year-old premier said he had spoken to leaders such as China’s Xi Jinping and the United Arab Emirates’ Mohammed bin Zayed, and, although he acknowledged a lot of anxiety in Asia, most people think tariffs should not be “unnecessarily negative . . . The US wants to protect its own interests, but in the long term trade barriers wouldn’t help because interdependence is high.”
Anwar predicted an “initial shock” after Trump’s inauguration on Monday but said after that “reason will probably prevail”. He said: “You can expect some initial turbulence or uncertainty, but after five or six months you stay the course. There are too many US conglomerates and companies that have so much interest in and dependence on foreign trade and investments.”
Speaking in London during an official visit to the UK, Anwar suggested that to many people outside the west Trump came across “as more determined, more clear” than his predecessor Joe Biden. The president-elect did not convey a “wishy-washy position or uncertainty”, he added.
He cautioned, however, that it was too soon to say whether Trump would be easier to work with than Biden. “It’s a bit premature,” he said with a laugh. “Hopefully yes. As [former US president] Barack Obama says: the audacity of hope.”
One of the world’s so-called middle powers, Malaysia seeks to maintain good relationships with both the US and China even as Beijing and Washington are at loggerheads over security and economic issues.
Anwar said the US had lost ground to China in south-east Asia because of its lack of engagement.
“We engage well with the US but it does not engage the region as actively as it did in the past. China in that sense takes a more positive attitude,” he said, citing recent visits to Malaysia by senior Chinese officials. “They give better access, you can meet them easily. We send ministers there, they send ministers.”
The US had allowed its attention on Asia to slip, Anwar said, perhaps because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “Maybe they are focused on Europe, I don’t know. But certainly they have reduced placing importance [on the region] other than general foreign policy statements.”
Since Anwar took office a little over two years ago Malaysia is seen as having shifted closer to Beijing. At a time of rising tensions in the South China Sea, this has unsettled some of Kuala Lumpur’s partners in Asean, the 10-nation regional grouping that Malaysia chairs this year.
Anwar stressed that the US was still a valued investor in Malaysia and remained a dominant force in the microchip business, but he welcomed increased Chinese investment in infrastructure and other areas in recent years. “It’s better for smaller economies such as Malaysia to extend its [ties] with China.
“The only contentious issue is the South China Sea [where China has conflicting territorial claims with some Asean member states] where we are engaging well and taking a strong position.”
Anwar conceded that he has been less forthright than the Philippines over China’s confrontational stance in the South China Sea.
Asked if Asean under his leadership would be as tough on China as under some of his predecessors, he said: “Why do we need to be tough? We disagree on many foreign policy issues with the US but we want them to be an important ally. Similarly with China I don’t think it’s a matter of being tough against a strong, big neighbour.”
Echoing a view widely held in developing countries, he said western powers had been “hypocritical” in their support for Israel’s military attacks in Gaza.
“There is a trust deficit among emerging economies because big powers have not followed the ground rules of basic international law.”
In south-east Asia, he added, the west has delivered endless lectures about democracy and reform but delivered little practically to help. “Nothing was done to assist [the region]. There’s engagement only in trade and investment.”
In his long career, Anwar has trumpeted the need for reform and transparency in Malaysia’s traditionally opaque politics and business. Before finally taking office in 2022 he had served two terms in prison for sodomy and corruption on politically motivated charges.
His critics say that now he is in charge of a fractious coalition government Anwar has retreated from his earlier reformist zeal and that the country’s anti-corruption commission is focusing on his enemies and not on potential suspects close to the government.
Anwar, however, defended Malaysia’s decision to ease jail conditions for Najib Razak, the former prime minister convicted of money-laundering linked to the 1MDB embezzlement scandal, whose jail sentence was also halved a year ago.
“I went through that hell also, and solitary confinement. I wasn’t given any food outside except for the prison food,” said Anwar. “But do I need then to treat Najib in the same manner? I say no, I mean, he was prime minister.”
But Anwar insisted he was not prepared to pardon allegations of corruption in Malaysia under his predecessors, including Mahathir Mohamad. He also accuses Mahathir of allowing his mistreatment when he first put him in jail in the 1990s. Mahathir denies corruption and is pursuing a defamation claim against Anwar.
“I was assaulted and near death. I’ve forgiven, I want to move on,” Anwar said. “But steal from the public purse — billions — [and] I’ve no authority to forgive you. You give back the funds.”
