As Malaysia goes to the polls after the dissolution of Parliament on 10 October 2022, the country’s dominant political coalition, Barisan Nasional, led by Zahid Hamidi is set to go-it-alone to win back the people’s mandate. A mandate that was lost in 2018 based on lies, dubious promises and failed policies by a coalition led by previous prime minister, Mahathir Mohammad.
Zahid, who was the deputy prime minister under the Najib Razak administration remains a close ally and associate of the former prime pinister, Najib. Zahid seeks to re-vitalise the country back to its glory days while it was under the stewardship of Najib Razak. In this regard, Zahid seeks to amplify the One Malaysia ideology introduced by Najib echoing strength in diversity. Zahid’s emphasis is on the Bangsa Malaysia or the true Malaysian identity for all citizens – regardless of ethnic background, religious beliefs or regional origins. This comes as a breath of fresh air given the racial and religious polarisation that was propagated and weaponised by the Mahathir regime.
Furthermore, Zahid’s coalition faces a looming economic downturn brought on by, not just, ongoing global events but also poor fiscal and foreign policies perpetuated by Mahathir and the two successive governments since 2018. Zahid looks to restructure the nation’s tax structure to re-introduce a possible GST-type component and to reexamine the banking system to adopt a growing cashless and digital framework.
Zahid is also clear in his resolve to attract and ease the flow of both Foreign and Domestic Direct Investments (FDI and DDI). In particular, Zahid looks to attract investments and collaboration with his immediate neighbours and regional partners, namely, Indonesia, China and India.
Zahid is keenly looking to reestablish strategic ties with specific regional partners that were summarily tarnished and disrupted by the Mahathir-led coalition. In particular, he has begun to outline a plan to reach out and to revitalise Malaysia’s bilateral ties with Saudi Arabia, the UAE, ASEAN, China and India.
Specifically, Zahid sees India as a critical strategic partner in several areas of collaboration, namely:
Regional security
Anti Terrorism and De-Radicalisation efforts
Tax and banking learnings that could be co-opted into the Malaysian context
Defence technology partnerships
Bio-Technology partnerships
Key partnerships in next-generation information technology and cyber security.
Palm Oil exports
Joint collaboration into Palm Oil and Rubber contract-plantations
Food security and food-processing collaboration
Select infrastructure collaboration projects that include highways, rail infrastructure and airports in both countries
Joint energy exploration and processing
It is expected that the general election would be held by mid-November 2022. Zahid is confident of garnering a comfortable majority for the Barisan Nasional in order to form the next government – a government that would emphasise Stability and Prosperity for all Malaysians.
The author is a Malaysia-based political analyst. Views are personal.
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