BRICS: To join or not to join?

IF Malaysia keeps its card close to its chest and plays it right, it has every chance to benefit from joining BRICS, a grouping of countries comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Lining up to get into the club are Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Turkiye is eyeing a place there too.

“BRICS is a group of emerging markets, countries that seek to deepen their economic ties and bring together the world’s most important developing countries to challenge the political and economic power of the wealthier nations of the North and Western Europe.”

I picked this up from Google.

Our Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has expressed his wish for Malaysia to join as a member.

I think we should consider the merits of his wish and either support his quest or reject it with some good reasons.

It is my opinion that for Malaysia to be able to derive meaningful benefits from an association of countries with differing political ideologies and systems of government, Malaysia must never allow its national rights and interests to be compromised in the process.

Our Constitutional Monarchy, apolitical civil administration, law and order apparatus, our parliamentary system of government (with regular, free and fair elections of legislators), as well as freedom of religion and of association, are vital institutions that sustain our survival as a nation in a predatory part of the world.

Malaysians expect their government to act responsibly and wisely in making any move to join any grouping. Its role as a member of BRICS must be effective in terms of promoting good rapport amongst the members of BRICS.

I say Malaysia must be a friend to all, and an enemy of none. If it can withstand the pressures to side with one country involved in a quarrel over certain matters, it will have a bright future in BRICS.

So, do we join the group, or remain where we are? After all, we are already associated with a number of other groups. One group that we must continue to be a member of is the Commonwealth of Nations comprising Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Fiji, Samoa – to name a few.

This is an old club whose members have been helpful to us in times of need. The Malayans and Sarawakians of my age may testify to this fact, during and after the Pacific War (1941-1945).

It is therefore imperative that we retain our existing relations with these comrades while making new friends. Make friends, yes – the more the merrier.

The following Malay ‘pantun’ (quatrain) contains the message that I wish to convey to the advocates for BRICS in Malaysia:

“Kubu Kapit tiangnya condong,
“Ditiup angin dari hulu,
“Laksana pipit kenalkan jagong,
“Padi jangan di tinggal lalu.”

The firm stand taken by the PM Anwar is an excellent case in point (The Borneo Post: Sept 6, 2024). By asserting Malaysia’s right to continue exploring for sources of petroleum within our own territory, he has done the right and proper thing.

No country, however powerful in its own right, should bully Malaysia.

We will trade with everybody, irrespective of the ideologies of our trading partners, as long as we do not lose our bearing in the process – or worse, sell our souls.

‘Special relationship with India, China’

India is in BRICS. The elevation of ties between India and Malaysia from that of a mere Enhanced Strategic Partnership (ESP), to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership (CSP), is a significant improvement in the relations between the two.

Collaborating in various sectors is more than selling and buying palm oil. Both countries will improve bilateral relations in social, cultural interactions and involvement of ordinary people of both countries.

The lesson that Malaysians ought to learn from India is how the Indian governments have managed to cope with the pulls and punches of politics of a billion-plus people all this while.

What could be that formula which the Indian governments have been using to sustain a democratic system of government with little or hiccups here and there?

The ties cemented while both countries are members of the Commonwealth of Nations must be maintained at all costs, I advocate.

We do not interfere with the administration and politics of the countries with which we do trading. All we want is to be able to trade freely for mutual benefits.

Nothing more, nothing less.

We have had good trading relations with China. This should not mean that we forget all about Taiwan, an old friend. Both entities are our trading partners. Whatever problems they may have between them, these will be settled between them in the fullness of time.

Both Malaya and Sarawak have a centuries-long history of connections with China. Our relationship with the People’s Republic of China is a recent development, after China recognised the formation of Malaysia.

Clout in Asean

As Malaysia will assume the chairmanship of Asean in four months’ time, our membership in BRICS may allow us to play an important role in an enlarged situation.

We will meet with many new friends. This is the time when we may display some diplomatic clout to influence the thinking of others in both Asean and BRICS; for instance, in terms of pushing for the adoption by China of the Code of Conduct that Asean has been advocating for years.

Our diplomats will need to take a firm stand with their Chinese counterparts – Malaysia has no interest in re-drawing international boundaries arbitrarily. Sarawakians – your ‘Pemakai Menoa’ (Territorial Domain) is inside that so-called ‘nine-dash line’!

With reference to trade, Malaysia as the chairman of Asean may like to raise the possibility of reviving the interest in CACAC (China-Asean Agricultural Commerce) to enable Malaysia, including Sarawak, to trade more in agricultural products with China – not just durians.

Will it be worth our time to be amongst such a group of countries having diverse and diverging interests?

Will it simply be an anti-US platform?

If we find it does nothing to further our interest, let’s add a couple of loopholes, so we would be able to pull out gracefully before our rights and interests get submerged in geopolitics.

Malaysians are watching our government’s move to get into BRICS, giving it the benefit of the doubt.

We shall see.

* The opinions expressed in this article are the columnist’s own and do not reflect the view of the newspaper.