MALAYSIA TO APPLY TO JOIN BRICS - BUT IS PM ANWAR TRYING TO SOFTEN THE BLOW OF GIVING US GIANT BLACKROCK ACCESS TO LOCAL AIR INFRASTRUCTURE
KUALA LUMPUR (politicsnowmy.blogspot.com) - Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has announced that Malaysia has decided to join the China and Russia-led BRICS - but whether this is mere political chest-thumping as it will be quite a while before the country is able to gain membership into the elite financial and economic grouping - allowing his administration to buy time amid accusations his regime is favoring the United States on many policy fronts.
Chief among these is the perception that his administration is giving the US access to control Malaysia's air infrastructure even as the sabre-rattling between Beijing and Washington for dominance in the South China Seas intensifies.
"The weight of the impact of BlackRock is tremendously huge," Tian Chua, a former Member of Parliament, told PoliticsNow!
"Once a US firm takes over Malaysian air space, it will be a complete circle surrounding China. The Israel and Palestine conflict is also another proxy war between the two blocs," Tian, who is also spokesman for the Palestine Solidarity Secretariat, had previously told PoliticsNow!
BRICS was formed in 2006 to build an alternative to the current world banking order where the US-led Swift system has been roundly condemned by many non-Western nations as a tool to support and ensure the continuity of the US dollar's hegemony in world markets - as well as a weapon to punish, even cripple, those nations that did not agree with US and Western foreign or trade policies with economic sanctions.
So far, some 36 countries have submitted expressions of interest to join the economic bloc - with Thailand aiming to be the first in Southeast Asia to gain membership.
"We have made our decision on joining BRICS, and we will be starting the formal procedures soon," Anwar had said during an interview with the Chinese media.
"I am working closely with Brazil's President Lula on expanding the membership, and we are now awaiting the final result and response from the South African government," Anwar added.
He also praised China’s rise, saying it had “brought us a glimmer of hope that there are checks and balances in the world” - and praised Chinese President Xi Jinping for recognizing the importance of rejuvenating Asian values.
“When I first met President Xi Jinping, I was attracted to him because President Xi is one of the few outstanding leaders who talks about civilization. In a sense, he is unique,” he was quoted as saying.
PRAISING THE CHINESE - BUT GIVING AIR CONTROL TO THE US?
The Malaysian prime minister had upset Muslim quarters in his own country when his administration secretly gave the green light, after initially denying it, to BlackRock, perhaps the world’s biggest asset manager with huge investments directly in Israel, to mount a bid for Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad which manages almost all the airports in the Southeast Asian country.
BlackRock is reportedly the largest investor in all US weapons and supplies to Israel. Its New York-based unit, GIP, is in the consortium of four staging the RM18 billion MAHB takeover and stands to be the biggest winner holding 25% control if the deal is rammed through.
The other three members are Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA), which will get only a 5% effective stake; local wealth fund Khazanah, which stands to boost its existing 33.2% stake to 40%; and national pension fund EPF, which will see its existing 7.9% stake drastically raised to 30%.
SHAKING OFF 'US BOY' IMAGE
The deal, seen as pro-Zionist by Malaysia's predominantly Malay-Muslim population, has pushed the troubled Anwar, who has long tried to shake off his image of being a "US boy", into another uncomfortable political position.
The 76-year-old leader, whose Cabinet has been hit by corruption accusations, has lashed out at critics and political rivals for allegedly inciting "hatred and envy" over the BlackRock deal, which his administration claims is a sure sign of the thumbs-up from global investors for Malaysian assets.
Yet local currency, the ringgit, remains unloved and unable to rebound to any significant key level that would indicate the worst is over.
At 9am today (June 18), the ringgit rose to 4.7100/4.7140 versus the greenback from Friday’s close of 4.7190/4.7225 - away from the 4.80 psychological level that has already been pierced but nowhere near the 4.20 level that the Anwar regime has optimistically touted or even near to 4.50, a key level that would indicate the worst was over and stability was back in sight.
Almost all the airports in Malaysia are managed by MAHB and its services have come under heavy criticism, with users long demanding improvement. Connectivity is also an issue. Compared to Singapore’s Changi and Thailand’s Suvarnabhumi, which scored 102.1 and 89.1 for connectivity, KLIA only has a connectivity rate of 59.9, according to Malaysia's aviation authority Mavcom in its 2023 review.
"Joining BRICS is a welcomed move. We should reduce our dependency on US dollar and the US economy," said Tian, while declining to comment if it was a move that was fueled by Anwar's domestic political pressures or a step taken for the sake of economic advantage and survival.
"BRICS potential has much larger global market than the US- Western bloc," Tian added.
Written by Wong Choon Mei, PoliticsNow!
https://politicsnowmy.blogspot.com/
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