In the 1970s and 1980s, the Philippines was known as the ‘sick man’ of Asia because of its poor economic record and unwillingness of foreign companies to invest in the country under the dictatorship of Ferdinand Marcos. Even after the fall of Marcos in 1986, it took the Philippines decades before foreign investors returned to the country.
The inability of the PN government to manage the 3rd wave of COVID cases has resulted in the 2nd Movement Control Order (MCO) at the start of 2021. At the same time, new data has emerged which shows a significant decline in foreign investor confidence in Malaysia.
According to the January 2021 issue of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), it was reported that FDI inflows to South East Asia fell by 31% to US$107 billion in 2020.
While a fall in FDI inflows into the region in 2020 was not surprising given the impact of the COVID pandemic, what was shocking was the fact that FDI inflows to Malaysia fell by 68% compared to Singapore (-37%), Indonesia (-24%), Indonesia (-10%) and Thailand (-50%).
These figures are ACTUAL FDI inflows to the respective countries unlike the FDI figures announced by the Minister of Finance, Tengku Zafrul, earlier this year, which are only approved investments and not realized investments.
At the same time, reports on some multinational companies moving their regional Headquarters (HQs) out of Malaysia to places like Indonesia have also created the image that Malaysia is no longer an attractive place for foreign investors.
These reports play in a part in building the larger narrative that Malaysia is lagging behind our neighbours on many fronts – not being able to manage the COVID crisis, plagued by political instability, having an incompetent cabinet and flip flopping on government policies in ways which damage the business environment.
While these negative reports have been circulating for the past week, the Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI) have not issued any statements to address this issue or to counter this negative narrative which is plaguing the country’s image domestically and internationally.
With this kind of economic and political leadership under the PN government, it would not be surprising if Malaysia finds itself being labelled as the new ‘sick man’ of Asia.
Dr. Ong Kian Ming
Member of Parliament for Bangi
