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MALAYSIA must carefully navigate rising geopolitical and economic pressures to protect its position as a highly open trading nation embedded in global supply chains, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said.
He said developments in trade, technology and geopolitics had a significant impact on Malaysia, particularly as the country remained deeply integrated into global manufacturing, semiconductor and supply-chain networks.
“For a country that lives by trade, like Malaysia, with factories in the middle of the world, chips and supply chains, this is not merely a theoretical consideration.
“A trading nation that is naïve about this will not remain a trading nation for very long,” he said in his keynote address at the Khazanah Megatrends Forum (KMF) 2026 in Kuala Lumpur today.
Anwar said Malaysia had so far weathered global volatility by maintaining its focus on the economy and international trade while sustaining relations with trading partners in both the West and East.
The approach had enabled Malaysia to continue generating growth through investment and trade with the United States and Europe while strengthening ties with China, South Korea, Japan and India.
“We are beginning to navigate the balance between the good and the bad, including having discussions with President Xi Jinping last year here, as well as having to deal with President Donald Trump,” he said.
On ASEAN, Anwar said Malaysia was fortunate to be part of the regional bloc, but its role needed to extend beyond merely hosting meetings.
He said ASEAN needed the capacity and influence to shape developments in the region and beyond rather than simply respond to them. - October 5, 2026
