Obama should remind Najib of reform agenda, says US think tank

An article in the influential US think tank Council of Foreign Relations' website called on Obama to “look into Malaysia’s future” even as the first sitting American president to visit Malaysia in almost five decades arrives today.

“President Obama is not going to, by himself, convince Najib to pick up the mantle of reform again, but making the argument for reform would be welcome among American businesses investing in Southeast Asia,” wrote Senior Fellow for Southeast Asia of CFR, Joshua Kurlantzick, in a blog post entitled “What should president Obama do in Malaysia”.

Kurlantzick said that Najib, despite a strong start has “mostly given up on many proposed economic reforms.”

Malaysia has struggled to move into higher value-added industries, and its education system remained much weaker compared to other Asian countries, he wrote.

Although investors still like Malaysia for certain types of manufacturing, and the government offers many incentives for foreign investment, Kurlantzick added: “in the long-term many foreign investors wonder what Malaysia’s competitive advantage will be.”

Obama, according to the CFR writer, should maintain a “balanced focus” during his trip, and recognize Malaysia as “one of the success stories of human development in the post-World War II era”.

Malaysia has “certainly accomplished a great deal” in just a little more than half a century, although it stills battles with the challenge of corruption, he said.

“Its economy is more diversified than many experts give it credit for, it has boosted GDP per capita to over $10,000 (RM 32,680) (and GDP per capita is much higher in urban areas like Kuala Lumpur), and it has built an efficient and modern physical infrastructure on peninsular Malaysia.”

“President Obama should rightly celebrate this impressive development,” he wrote.

'Recognise multi-ethnic, multi-religious Malaysia'

Obama, said Kurlantzick, should “recognize that Malaysia is a multi-ethnic country with many non-Muslims” and meet with leaders from Chinese and Indian communities, as well as opposition parties.

“The dismal showing of the coalition’s ethnic Chinese party further reduced the voice of non-Muslims and non-Malays in government,” said the article, adding that the increased “vitriolic rhetoric” from government leaders against non-Malays have resulted in them leaving the country.

“Prime Minister Najib’s plans to further boost economic preferences for Malays adds to this Chinese and Indian fear, and also distorts the economy.”

Kurlantzick also wrote that Obama should “avoid the ‘big man’ problem” by meeting not just Najib, but other groups that represents Malaysia, including Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and other civil societies.