By T K Chua

Everybody, including the international press, is now keenly looking at Prime Minister Najib Razak’s visit to the People’s Republic of China.

The obvious narrative is Malaysia’s disappointment with the US following action by the US Department of Justice to seize assets purportedly bought with money stolen from 1MDB.

Which country can provide better assurance to Malaysia now if not China – a superpower on the rise with military muscle and financial prowess? I am sure Malaysians will hear more of China than any country from now on.

Malaysia as a nation loves to look everywhere except within itself. We believe there is a simple and shortcut to success – by looking and emulating. But we never admit to our own shortcomings and weaknesses. We never admit to our sloppiness and laziness. We believe if we look at a successful country, we too will achieve success in no time.

At one time, not long after independence, we looked to Great Britain. Everything was British – equipment, apparatus, standards, measures, administration and government.

After a while, we grew tired of Britain. Some smart Alec came along and asked us to look elsewhere.

So, for years we looked “east” to Japan and Korea. We sent our students and government servants there for training, adopted their management styles, and tried our best to inculcate their values and ethics. We thought this was the panacea for our ills.

Then we grew wary again. We could not ignore the “greatness” of the US – its first black president and his visit to Malaysia after nearly half a century, Hollywood, golf and glamorous living. For a while we thought we had arrived. We thought we could ride on the US’s open society and great “democratic tradition”.

What a disappointment! We forgot that democracy cuts both ways. We forgot that the US does not handle kleptocracy, larceny, investigation, and prosecution the way we do. We forgot our friends in the US can’t get us out of trouble if laws are violated.

So we searched and looked again. What a friend we find in China now – a friend willing to buy our troubled energy assets, invest billions in our Bandar Malaysia, finance our East Coast railroad, and to sell navy vessels for us to guard our territory in the South China Sea perhaps.

China is, of course, Malaysia’s best friend today. Who else could it be? But after China, I wonder who shall be Malaysia’s best friend – the Arabs?

The reality is, we have never looked at ourselves. We have never admitted to our self-inflicted problems. We have never explored the resilience and the capability within us as a nation. How can the British, Japanese, Koreans, Americans, and now the Chinese help us if we are unprofessional and incompetent?

Why do we have to sell our jewels? Why do we need China to construct the railroad for us? Yes, why? China today has the most number of high-speed trains. Did China get anyone to construct these trains for it?

TK Chua is an FMT reader.

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