THE world is complex, even chaotic, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim stated at one of the hubs of South Korea’s brightest minds, Seoul National University, during his official visit. This is where an oxymoron fits to a T: a “world order” that is helter-skelter thanks to geopolitical and geo-economic fissures which are getting deeper and wider.
Aggressive trade and investment policies exacerbate an environment of uncertainty. Trade wars and protectionist rivalries cast doubts on institutions of global governance that, 80 years after the Bretton Woods institutions were established, have demonstrated a sheer inability to adapt to a multipolar world.