KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has many advantages in terms of human resources, abundant natural resources, good strategic position and good geopolitical relationships with the majority of trading nations, and if it adheres to established policies, the country can compete with or even surpass the achievements of Asean countries such as Singapore, an economist says.
Putra Business School’s Master of Business Administration programme director and associate professor Ahmed Razman Abdul Latiff said the current challenging geopolitical period is not the correct time to focus on competition but on collaborations or partnerships that will bring about win-win situations.
“If we follow the Asean’s principles or spirit, we definitely cannot view everyone as competitors as all parties have their advantages.
“In terms of collaboration, we can already see Malaysia and Singapore have established a close relationship and much cooperation in terms of infrastructure development that enables trade relationships, business activities and labour movement between both countries.
“After this, I believe that an exclusive (economic) zone will be established,” he said on Bernama TV’s “Ruang Bicara” programme recently.
Ahmed Razman said that since last year, Malaysia has shown improvements in various rankings, such as rising from the 32nd spot to the 27th on the International Institute for Management Development World Competitiveness Ranking 2023 and maintaining its 36th position out of 132 countries in the Global Innovation Index 2023.
“Looking at the rankings in detail, we (Malaysia) have several advantages in terms of infrastructure and skilled labour.
“Just look at Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s recent overseas visits, where he obtained agreements on cooperation and understanding to attract more foreign investors to our country due to the advantages mentioned earlier.
Ahmed Razman added that in the Asean context, sometimes questions are raised concerning developments in neighbouring countries, such as why Tesla is opening a battery factory in Indonesia but not Malaysia, but we should be aware that Malaysia has its attractions that are different from other countries.
“They (the other Asean countries) have their attractions where we cannot compete, such as Singapore’s human resources or Indonesia and Vietnam in terms of land and cheap natural resources.
“Malaysia has its advantages, and compared to other countries in terms of ranking, we are actually in a very advantageous position and are constantly showing improvement (in ranking) from previous years,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ahmed Razman pointed out that the stability of the unity government, the prime minister’s solidarity spirit, and Malaysia’s becoming the Asean chair in 2025 make this an opportune time for Malaysia to lead Asean’s economy.
“This is the correct time for us to move forward as an Asean economic power, where Malaysia can become the leader,” he added. — Bernama
