On the other hand, economists see it as not only pragmatic but also a way to mend ties with China.
When Pakatan Harapan (PH) was serving its first stint in government from 2018 to 2020, Putrajaya’s ties with Beijing was anything but cozy.
The PH government was critical of projects under China’s Belt and Road Initiative, one of which was the East Coast Rail Link (ECRL), which slowed down considerably when Dr Mahathir Mohamad led the PH government in his second stint as prime minister.
While not obvious, the repercussions were there for all to see, Azmi Hassan, senior fellow at Akademi Nusantara, told FMT Business.
It was during this period that there were reports of encroachment by Chinese coastguard vessels into Malaysian waters.
For instance, in January 2020, Petronas’ drill ship West Capella was shadowed for almost two months by Chinese vessels while it was conducting a drilling research project.
This led to a standoff between Chinese and Malaysian vessels near the outer edge of Malaysia’s 200-nautical-mile exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the coast of Sarawak.
The point of contention was the potential natural gas and oil reserves below the South China Sea.
According to Foreign Policy news magazine, Beijing’s objective was to intimidate and disrupt Malaysia’s exploration activity to coerce it and other Asean littoral states into accepting joint development with China.
Azmi said Beijing could have taken such steps because the PH government was “not so friendly”.
“In a way, ties have been mended now given that Anwar is not seen as part of the previous PH government,” he said, adding that this can also be seen as a clean-up.
Azmi said the lesson to be learned from this episode is that there is a need for openness.
“It is not about de-dollarisation or us leaning towards China. It is about being pragmatic about the Malaysian economy and to stay neutral when it comes to China and the US,” he added.
Azmi said that when it came to the economy, which is closely linked with geopolitics, it would not help for Malaysia to take sides.
Anwar, the pragmatist
For Monash University Malaysia economics professor Niaz Asadullah, Anwar has won over the West with his thinking.
“Many in the West admire him for his market-friendly attitude and principled struggle for democracy and human rights in Muslim-majority Malaysia,” Niaz told FMT Business.
“He remains committed to the rule of law, individual liberty, social justice, good governance as well as free and fair elections, all of which are core values of western democracy,” he added.
He said that Anwar clearly recognised the geopolitical complexities of the post-pandemic world, particularly the risks of great power competition.
“On the other hand, he is not afraid of radical change, if necessary,” he said, adding that this made the prime minister a pragmatist.
“But while he advocates internationalism on many issues, he also sees the need for a paradigm shift (at home) so that economic and social policies are made with national interests and the rakyat in mind,” Niaz added.
He said Malaysia’s foreign policy had evolved over the years to strike a balance in the country’s relationship with both the West and China.
“Even when Mahathir introduced the Look East policy, Malaysia never completely overlooked the West,” he said.
He said this trend would continue and Malaysians could expect a more flexible, adaptable and responsive approach to policy under Anwar in light of changing global and regional economic conditions.
Pacific Research Center of Malaysia principle advisor Oh Ei Sun said every administration in Malaysia had been pragmatic in its foreign policy.
“This is because we value trade and investment, and the fact is that China is now ascending while the US is on the descent when it comes to trade and investments in Malaysia,” he told FMT Business.
“It is only natural that Malaysia has become closer with China in recent years because the US has increasingly retreated into protectionism,” Oh added.