WHEN I am asked by the media to comment on how President Joe Biden would affect the United States-Malaysia relations, the thought that comes to me first is how much we need a leader like him to put my country together again. Someone who can rise above the politics of division.
Unfortunately, there is no one like that in Malaysian politics today. We need first to find common ground from which a new politics not based on race can emerge, and, with it, new leaders. How to achieve that should be the stuff of politics, rather than how to stay in power, how to get into power, and how to use the easiest and often basest appeals to stay in or get power.
And in all this time, a political plutocracy has formed, which suspects different views, considers many of them as a threat, and rules by the lowest common denominator, on the foundation of the system and on the details of policy, that only yes men can provide.
When I saw the attack on the Capitol, the assault on American democracy, which Biden seeks to restore and reinvigorate, I also wonder who we have to restore and strengthen the institutions of democratic government in our country. If both the objective of unity and constitutional governance are not the concern of Malaysian political leaders today, we are in for a dark and retarded period in our national history, already blighted by the heavy cost of the Covid-19 pandemic.
Of course, US-Malaysia relations are not unimportant, although less important to America than it is to Malaysia. Saying this will upset people who have an interest in presuming how important Malaysia is, whether ambassadors assigned to the task or those whose task it is to elevate those relations.
This is another problem in Malaysia. Not recognising where we are, not admitting the reality, always ready to blame the messenger and not looking at the news he brings.
We become mediocre that way. What happens to US-Malaysia relations now depends most of all on what we make of it, what we want from it, how we position ourselves to identify, engage and develop those relations. Biden will be engrossed trying to unite his country once again, although he cannot avoid giving attention to global issues.
Malaysia has to identify which global issues are in its interest and engage the Americans actively in the bilateral relationship, as well as in multilateral forums. We must bring activity and quality to the table.
For example, if the issue of climate change and sustainable development is of common concern, we should determine exactly how we would like to work with the US on it. Whether at the international or regional policy levels, whether in economic investment and business or technology activities, which sectors, public healthcare, human capital development, clean energy and so on. We should prioritise and go for it with specifics. We cannot be jejune and driven just by issues that are the flavour of the month.
On the issue of trade, going bilateral is insufficient, as we operate in a multilateral context. That multilateral context is not served just by making generalised statements of belief in a rules-based free trade system. We have to work at it. Do we work in Asean to provide leadership to take a common stand in the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, on free trade agreements, in international forums?
Asean has been dismal at this. It is, for instance, represented at G20 meetings: Indonesia in its own right, Singapore as leader of the Global Governance Group, and the Asean chair as observer ever since the London Summit in 2009. Have they ever got together to present a common front on the most pressing issues of trade? Would Malaysia want to get this going in Asean, provide leadership in Asean, or are we preoccupied with domestic politics?
Similarly, on the more difficult issue of the South China Sea, we cannot duck having clarity by simply saying we do not want to have to choose between China and the US. Biden is likely to reiterate the American position on freedom of navigation and the "global commons", a stand made clear by the Obama administration since 2010. Does Malaysia support this? Do we stand by the principle that international law must be observed to provide security for smaller states?
Further, we cannot countenance Chinese incursions into our exclusive economic zone, and not prevaricate, as we have done in the past, by saying it is no big deal for us that China does so.
We have to make the point about principles we uphold and actions we do not accept. Singapore, and this is a point which galls many in Malaysia, has been able to be clear on its position, sometimes at cost, from which it has been able to recover through adroit diplomacy.
Even so, there are diametrically opposed views in Singapore on whether Singapore should take a stand. But they are discussed vigorously and resolved in dynamic fashion and then determined policy is executed effectively, with nobody considered negative for having a different view.
In Malaysia, there is fear and disdain, if not worse, for those who have a different view. This way, policy decisions and conduct do not pass muster.
The basis of our nationhood is severely fractured. Unless this is addressed, we will continue to operate as a maimed country. For one, the conduct of foreign policy will be sub-optimal. So, if you ask me how US-Malaysia relations will be affected by Biden, my answer is, by his example, we should be thinking Malaysia, reflect more deeply than superficial enumeration of this and that.
The writer is former NST group editor and Visiting Senior Fellow and Member of the Advisory Board LSE IDEAS (Centre for International Affairs, Strategy and Diplomacy)