BRICS: bigger voice for Malaysia globally

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s interest in the BRICS alliance will alter the country’s foreign policies as it allows smaller countries to have a bigger say on the global stage.

Touted as a geopolitical rival to the G7, which features mostly Western-allied nations, BRICS is an intergovernmental organisation comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Iran, Egypt, Ethiopia, and the United Arab Emirates.

“It implies that ‘order’ is no longer, or should no longer be monopolised by one or two powers, i.e. the United States or its allies, or by the military.

“Rather, it suggests that small countries have a voice today and they are rejecting the idea of setting ‘universal’ rules for how the global order is determined,” Munirah said when contacted.

At the same time, geostrategist and Nusantara Strategic Research Academy senior fellow Prof Azmi Hassan also shares the same sentiment that BRICS has the potential to shift the current world order, adding that Malaysia has more to gain geopolitically by joining the alliance.

Azmi said that currently global policy-making is heavily dominated by the Western forces such as the US, which gives Malaysia very little say on the world stage.

However, Azmi also warned that it would be wrong to assume that an alternative to a Western order means anti-West.

“BRICS gives small nations like Malaysia a voice. But there is a perception that BRICS is anti-West.

“The alliance is actually trying to become a counterweight to the imbalance,” Azmi told Scoop.

Pointing to Putrajaya’s position on the Palestinian conflict in the Middle East as an example, Azmi said that China and Russia share a similar pro-Palestine stance with Malaysia.

“There will be an impact on Malaysia’s foreign policy given Russia and China currently appear to be more pro-Palestine and Malaysia will be an added voice.

“If you look at the Western bloc, they will talk about Palestine but there’s no action if you compare to their position on Ukraine,” he explained.

Alternative global financial system

In addition to being an alternative to the current West-dominated world order, the BRICS alliance has the potential to spearhead a new global financial movement.

The New Development Bank (NDB), the brainchild of BRICS, appears to be an alternative to the Western-dominated International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, allowing simplified lending among member states and reducing dependence on the US dollar.

“I think the NDB is a precursor to the potential BRICS currency.

“In those terms, with de-dollarisation, it would benefit Malaysia economically but that is still a long way to go,” Azmi added.

However, former senior research officer with the Malaysian Institute of Economic Research (MIER) Samirul Ariff Othman warned that BRICS’ de-dollarisation exercise and its global bank would probably only benefit China.

He also highlighted various issues with the global bloc, stating that big countries such as India and China still do not get along.

“The so-called NDB and common currency will highly favour China.

“You also have to be aware that China doesn’t get along with India and they have been embroiled in many military skirmishes, the most recent in 2020.

“India, while touts itself as non-aligned, has a strategic relationship with the US because of their concerns with China.

“For Malaysia, there’s potential with BRICS, but it will take time. The bloc has to get their house in order first,” Samirul said.

On June 18, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim expressed interest in Malaysia joining the BRICS alliance.

However, Malaysia is not the only country in the region that has expressed interest in joining the bloc.

In January, Indonesia’s Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said that the country is studying the benefits of joining BRICS.

Myanmar and Laos had previously expressed interest in joining the bloc, while it is understood that Vietnam was monitoring the process of BRICS membership. – June 25, 2024