Malaysia China relations: When shared interests dominate the narrative

The sale of Malaysia's national car, the Proton, to China has raised many objections from the nationalists in the country, especially Mahathir who gave birth to the idea. There must be good reasons for Najib to want to part with this national project that is all about pride and progress of the bumiputra policy. It is easy to criticise Najib for selling a national asset, though not strategic in any sense, on emotional grounds overriding economic and financial considerations. If the Proton is such an attractive proposition, not losing money but gaining popularity as a national car, with new technology and engines to propel it into an international product, Najib would not have done what he did.

 

The logic behind the sale of Proton to China is very similar to the sale of Lotus by Britain to Malaysia or Sweden selling its Volvo to China. In the case of Lotus and Volvo, there are technologies involved that the Chinese are interested. There is nothing of this when the Proton is concerned, an antique dressed up with bright colours to be sold only to the locals as a cheap product but losing its glitters as the days gone by. Najib either sells it now when there is a buyer or would have to end up folding the company when no one else is interested in this shell of a car manufacturing company. There is nothing worthy or worthwhile for anyone to want to buy the Proton unlike Lotus or the Volvo. Period. China is actually doing Malaysia a big favour by pouring money into a dead end product and giving it a future with the injection of modern technology and engines to give it a new life. Would the critics be able to see it in this light?

 

There are times when interests collide and times when common interests compliment and would bring about more cooperation to benefit both parties. China has a great strategic interest to want to invest in Malaysia for strategic and economic reasons. The greatest fear of China is the choke point in the water ways through the Malacca Strait and the Strait of Singapore. 80% of China's oil flow through these narrow channels of water and with the Americans posing a greater threat in its increasing belligerent rhetoric against China. The latter has to do something to avoid a blockage of the Straits by the Americans.

 

China is looking at the geography of the region and found several alternatives to break away from the choke points. China is making big plans to find alternative routes for its oil supply from the Middle East bypassing the Straits of Singapore and Malacca in Gwadar, Pakistan, oil pipeline in Myanmar, a possible cutting of the Kra of Isthmus and cutting across from peninsula Malaysia. The strategic plan would involved several options and Malaysia is just one of them.

 

Why would Malaysia want to be part of this Chinese strategic plan? What benefits would Malaysia derive from it? For centuries, Malaysia has been bypassed by the strategic location and infrastructure of Singapore as a regional transportation hub. In the Chinese plan, involving great engineering, infrastructure development and financing, Malaysia would become the next transportation hub of the region to rival Singapore. China stood to gain strategically with its development in Malaysia. And Malaysia stood to gain economically enormously in replacing Singapore as the new transportation and financial centre. When both countries have so much to gain, there are all the reasons for Malaysia to rethink its strategic interests to participate fully in a plan that would make Malaysia a vibrant hub of economic activities. Or would Malaysia choose to let this piece of pie go and seek closer ties with the Americans that are meddling in its internal affairs and could only offer to sell more arms and weapons that are totally unproductive and a waste of money?

 

Malaysia can also decide against being aligned and enmeshed intricately with China as some critics would caution. Malaysia has a choice, and so has the Chinese. If Malaysia does not want to come on board, China would accelerate its plan to cut the Kra Isthmus in quick time and by pass Malaysia totally. China has to do one or the other. Malaysia could choose one or the other. When China chooses to go the Kra way, all the benefits that Malaysia could gain would go up in smokes and Malaysia would remain on the side line of the world's major water way and transportation network.

 

The Chinese proposition makes a lot of economic sense to Malaysia. The Chinese would find a way out from the potential American blockage, and Malaysia would become the new shining centre of global trade. Najib and his govt must have gone through the whole thinking process to want in and the instant reward is the sale of a karung guni car that no one would pay a cent for to China, and at a good price and with potential of the Proton name gaining more traction with new technology and engines to compete in the international market. To Malaysia, there are so many avenues and opportunities to benefit from this strategic alignment with China's economic and strategic plan with no compromise to its national interests.

 

Now what would the critics say or could offer other than emotional gripes? Would the Americans buy the Proton for a song? Would the Americans turn Malaysia into a new transportation hub and a new financial centre, or into another war zone?

Globalisation creates more and higher paying jobs for Singaporeans…or for foreigners

This is posted in the statestimesreview,

 

'In the latest interview with ABC Radio today (June 10), Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said that globalisation and the import of foreigners create more jobs and higher salaries for Singaporeans:

“In some countries, globalisation is viewed as a monster that wrests jobs from workers. But in Singapore, I see it as a creator of jobs and booster of workers’ wages. This is because as a globalised nation, we can play a role which is servicing the region, which is servicing the world. In doing so, we can have jobs in Singapore which are better paying for a wide range of our people.”'

 

How many of you agree with this statement that more foreigners create more jobs and higher salaries for Singaporeans? What I know, and what everyone knows, and reported in the media and govt statistics, is that more than 2m jobs were created for foreigners in Singapore and more than a few hundred thousands of these foreigners are earning higher salaries than Singaporeans, and many are earning millions in Singapore companies and govt linked companies. As for the number of jobs created by foreigners for Singaporeans and paying higher salaries, we need statistics to prove that this is the case. Would there be statistics to show how many jobs were created by the foreigners/foreign companies and how many are higher paying jobs occupied by Singaporeans?

 

The statistics so far proved that Singapore is creating more jobs, millions of jobs for foreigners and many paying higher salaries and many in the millions in Singapore companies and GLCs. Many CEOs of local companies and GLCs are foreigners.

 

What do you think? Can anyone prove otherwise that indeed more foreigners are creating higher paying jobs for Singaporeans? Name the million dollar Singaporeans that benefited from this globalization drive. Just the academia alone is providing thousands of foreigners with higher paying jobs that they could not get in their home countries.

 

The big question, is this a win win for Singaporeans and foreigners or a win for foreigners and lose for Singaporeans?

The invasion of the Philippines has begun

China sent its troops to fight the terrorists in Marawi in response to the Philippines govt asking for assistance. The troops have landed in Marawi. Now President Duterte has denied asking China for assistance and for Chinese troops to fight in the Philippines. This is an invasion of Philippines territorial integrity. Come on western media, this is good opportunity to blast at China for invading the Philippines.

Of course this is fake news. There is no Chinese troop in the Philippines and neither did Duterte ask the Chinese for military assistance. The truth, the Americans have sent in their Special Forces on the pretext that the Philippines govt has asked for their military assistance. Be it China or the USA, the facts are the same, there is an invasion of the Philippines by foreign military forces and the President of the Philippines has confirmed this.

The President of the Philippines has confirmed that he did not ask for help from the Americans and did not give permission for the American soldiers to be in the Philippines, in Marawi.

The American Special Forces have invaded the Philippines without an invitation from the Philippines govt. Would the western media write about this invasion?

What do you think, got invasion or no invasion? What would the Filipinos think, is their country being invaded?

What is the game in the Philippines?

What is the game in the Philippines?
The seizure of Marawi by the ISIS created a new situation in the Philippines' relation with the Americans. When Duterte came into office, he wanted the Americans out, including the American Special Forces. The Americans begged to stay on the excuse that they were there to help the Philippines tackle the insurgency problems in the South. Duterte reluctantly agreed with pressure from the Philippines military that were beholden to the Americans and wanted the Americans to stay.



The Special Forces have been in the Philippines for many years and it is not sure what value have they added to the Philippines, what have they helped to quell the insurgencies and the rise of ISIS. Some were questioning whether the Special Forces were there to help and support the growth of ISIS and other insurgents in southern Philippines. For after being there and presumably working very hard for the interest of the Philippines, the ISIS and the insurgents continued to grow in strength. Did the Special Forces know of the ISIS plan before the capture of Marawi or they were sleeping or worst, have a role in the uprising.


What have the Philippines benefited from the presence of the American Special Forces? Apparently none. The 'call by the Philippines govt for assistance from the Special Forces' could be one way Duterte is telling the Americans, you are here, get to work and show us what you can do and prove how useful the Americans can be. There is no point in having the Special Forces sitting in the Philippines doing nothing or doing things that were against the Philippines. It is pay back time for the Americans to prove their worth. Can't imagine that they have done sweet fuck all during all these years in the Philippines.


Another view on the situation in Marawi is that it has to happen to justify the presence of the Americans. Now the Philippines, being so useless even against an insurgency, would now be more reliance on the Americans. The Americans now have a good reason to be in the Philippines, maybe to send in more troops to fight the ISIS exactly in the same formula as in Iraq and Syria. Someone could have started this ISIS attack and who stands to benefit from the fighting in Marawi? No need to guess.


Some quarters are gloating that it is the Americans that are coming to the aid of the Philippines ad not China or Russia. With the Americans present on the ground and working on the ground for so many years, why would Duterte want to call on China or the Russians to send troops there? Would it not only be logical for the Americans, presumably knowing the ground and fighting the ISIS and the insurgents as their sole reason to be there to be called to perform?


Calling the Russians or the Chinese to fight the ISIS and with the Americans hiding in the background can be a treacherous proposition. They would have to watch their backs very carefully and for every move they make. Very likely Duterte would like to see if the Americans are real in what they claimed to be doing. They could repeat the whole story of fighting an unending insurgency war to justify their presence in the Philippines forever like in Iraq and Syria until the Russians came in to turn the table against the ISIS. The Americans are pretending that they are now fighting the ISIS with some successes that they failed to claim in the past.


Let's see if history repeats itself and the Americans would take the opportunity to want to send in more and more troops to turn the Philippines into another Syria or Iraq and be forever at the mercy of the Americans, and eventually Duterte has to call in the Russians to wipe the ISIS off the face of Filipino soil. Duterte still has the Russian and China cards to play and would be watching the Americans like a hawk.

Now the latest news on the situation in the Philippines in the front page of the media. Duterte denied calling for American assistance. What does this mean? Duterte said he only heard about it after the Americans arrived. It is pretty clear that the Americans have passed on another piece of fake news, telling the world that they were asked to be in the Philippines but in fact no such things happened. But based on the fake news they fabricated, they moved in their troops into Filipino soil without permission.

The intention of the Americans is very clear. They want their troops to be in the Philippines and the causes of the fighting in Marawi becomes clearer, more like another cooked situation to facilitate the presence of the Americans that are claiming that their military cooperation agreement allowed them to intervene in Filipino internal affairs at will, even without Filipino permission.

A nationalist group in Mindanao has criticized the Americans' intervention. 'We oppose US meddling and intervention in the Marawi crisis.' Duterte would now have an American problem in hand, how to ask the Americans to leave Filipino soil and what if they refused to leave? This sneaky American military entry into the Philippines is all aimed at Duterte and he better be very careful of a regime change, a military coup as there are elements in the Philippines military that are pro American and beholden to the Americans.

Now you are witnesses to a fake American news fabricated right before your eyes to allow Americans to enter a sovereign country without its permission. Duterte has no reason to ask the Americans for help and would not have done so.

China to balance the menace of the world

This is a statement that no one would utter to be politically right, meaning to be aligned to the American and western world view. Many Asians, particularly the English educated Singaporeans, are still trapped by the western narrative that the Americans are the righteous Empire and deserving to rule the world and China is the bad guy. So the call for China to balance against the menace of the world is just inappropriate, incongruent to the current mindset and political reality when the Americans are seen as the good guy.

China has always been painted as an aggressive and expansionist country by the West though the fact is that China was the victim of western imperialism. China was invaded and dismantled into a poor and dysfunctional country by the West, just like the Arab countries you are seeing today. Many parts of China and Chinese islands were seized by the conquering invaders, including Russia and Japan. The islands in East China Sea and South China Sea were Chinese territories but by deceit the Americans allowed the islands to end up in Japanese hands and also trying to take the position that the islands in the South China Sea were not Chinese and China is seizing these islands when the truth is that the other SE Asian countries are seizing Chinese islands. The expansionist countries are the SE Asian countries, not China.

The America side of the story is easy to gain traction by the SE Asian countries as it befits their intent and interests and was against Chinese interest. So China is flagged by the Americans as the aggressor and expansionist country instead of the SE Asian countries. So, how can China an expansionist country, be the country to balance the power of the menace of the world? This is the present story of geopolitics in the region. And you only hear silly Asian leaders uttering that the Americans, the world's menace, and the world's number one super power, has to be here to balance the rise of China when the Americans are threatening China in every way it could, warnings, pressure, threats of war and invasion by the American navy.

No one is asking why is there a need for the world's number one super power to balance against a much weaker emerging power. No one is asking why is there a void, that no one is calling for an emerging country like China to balance the menace of the world, to keep it from starting wars, conducting regime change, invading smaller countries, and breeding terrorist organisations all over the world, to destabilise countries and threatening every country that is not its ally?

There is this unspoken acceptance that the Americans are allowed to do what they want, unchallenged, unfettered, as the menace of the world, as if it is the right thing. No one is asking why are the Americans conducting wars everywhere and seen as a peaceful country whereas China is not involved in any war but seen as an aggressive expansionist country?

And every donkey is uttering that the Americans are a rule by law country when in fact the Americans are only following rules when the rules suited them but dismissing every rule that goes against its interests. The Americans are calling the rest of the world to follow the rules but not the Americans, the Americans are above the rules.

The Americans are violating all the rules in their wars of aggression and regime change, or to put it in the right context, removing legitimate leaders from power in foreign countries, interfering in the internal politics of every country. And the Americans could only do so with impunity because the silly leaders of the world, the American cronies, the little USAs, allowed the Americans to do so in acquiecence. And there is no country powerful enough to balance the brute force of the American military power.

The time is here for the rest of the world to rein in this menace by calling for other military powers to balance the military might of the Americans, to insist that the Americans observe the rules of law and play by the rules of law. No country should be above the rule of law, not the Americans, the menace of the world. As the blinkers are removed, more and more world leaders would come to acknowledge the fact that the menace of the world must be curbed in its wrong doings and the wanton use of force against smaller countries.

The menace of the world must be balanced by the growing might of the rest of the world to keep the world safe and peaceful. The menace of the world must not be allowed to continue to threaten other countries and world peace. In the new world order, there will be more calls for countries like China and Russia to balance the number one super rogue instead of the other way.