KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 9): Malaysia’s upcoming five-year development plan, the 13th Malaysia Plan (13MP), has been moulded in a “globalist lens”, according to Minister of Economy Rafizi Ramli.
The main mode of growth for Southeast Asia in the next decade will continue to run against the global tide of protectionism and isolationism, he said, noting that Malaysia, like its Southeast Asian peers, is a small, open and non-aligned country amid brewing tensions between the world’s superpowers.
“The world could turn inward, change its rules, and demand choices and allegiances from smaller countries,” he continued, “but we cannot change the way we are — champions of free trade, advocates for cooperation, and allies of pluralism and fair engagement.”
Rafizi was delivering the welcoming address at the Malaysia Economic Forum 2025 on Thursday. The current 12MP is set to expire this year. The 13MP, spanning 2026-2030, is expected to be tabled in Parliament in July 2025.
The remarks also come at a time when the incoming Trump administration is threatening to unleash massive tariffs, including on goods imported from allies.
The outgoing Biden administration is planning one additional round of restrictions on the export of advanced chips used in data centres to keep them out of the hands of China and Russia, according to news reports.
Three differentiations
Malaysia, as well as its Southeast Asian counterparts, must recognise its three “unique differentiations” — a young, digital and middle-class demographic; free trade and cooperative instincts; and political and policy stability — to carve its own economic path moving forward, Rafizi said.
“For Southeast Asia to break out of its middle-income trap that traditionally relied on low-cost, low-value labour, it must adopt and develop innovation, and innovation requires open and collaborative cooperation with others,” he said.
That means Southeast Asian countries will have to continuously seek cooperation and partnerships with traditional and non-traditional allies based on what Rafizi said are “pragmatic win-win parameters” to ensure growth.
Regional counterparts would have to contend with Southeast Asia’s “very different” model, which he noted has “equal, if not higher, effectiveness”.
“The heart of how the region cooperates is to not pre-judge every country’s political systems and the voters’ choices but to work on points of similarities,” he continued, “and current progressive and forward-looking leaders have shown a particular keenness to advance policies good for economic growth.”
These will likely persist for the next decade to come, he added.