MP SPEAKS | Selangor and Penang - both opposition-held states - attract among the highest levels of foreign investment in Malaysia.

We are supportive of the current open trade regime that has been Malaysia’s proud tradition since the early trading days at the Straits of Malacca.

We highly regard past posturing at the regional level which was peaceful, neutral and free, such as the Zone of Peace, Freedom and Neutrality (ZOPFAN). Whichever superpower it may be is welcomed, so long as it adheres to the prudent framework of symbiotic cooperation.

However, we differ starkly from the BN government under Prime Minister Najib Razak’s leadership on our emphasis on caution and moderation.

We also disapprove of the current government’s practice of escalating financial liabilities, which leads to aggravated risks and disadvantaged decision-making.

As such, we view with caution China’s bountiful investments into Malaysia. As a simple measure of magnitude, the 14 memorandums of understanding that Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak signed with China last November stand grandly at RM143.6 billion, equivalent to 55 percent of our 2017 federal budget.

Najib returns to China again for more this May, barely half a year after these deals were inked.

Indeed, foreign investment remains important for economic growth. But as with any venture, we must adopt moderate and prudent approaches to cope with potential risks.

Deals concluded too soon increases the plausibility for exploitation, collusion and corruption. Be frantic for China’s good graces and greedy for its wealth, and we stand to lose leverage over Malaysia’s own needs and priorities.

Alignment with superpower interests

Only recently did centre-left think tank Institut Rakyat hold a closed-door roundtable on the impact of China’s investments into Malaysia.

Esteemed economist Professor Jomo Kwame Sundaram noted that Malaysia has been consistently open to foreign direct investment (FDI) since its founding days.

However, what has fundamentally changed, he said, is our prudence and watchfulness over foreign ownership of land and assets.

For example, Forest City is developed through a 66:34 joint venture between China’s third largest property development company Country Garden and Johor’s little-known Esplanade Danga 88 Sdn Bhd.

As of February 2017, Chinese nationals own 70 percent of the homes that have been sold in Forest City.

Other Chinese investments, including Malacca Gateway and the East Coast Rail Line, are also predominantly real estate developments.

China’s FDI buries our fiscal mismanagement

China’s helping hand comes when Malaysia faces the ramifications of severe fiscal mismanagement.

For instance, scandal-ridden 1MDB was relieved of its debt obligations when state-owned enterprise China General Nuclear Power Corp purchased all of the former’s energy assets, bestowing it RM9.83 billion in cash.

Contrary to accepted conventions, FDI provides cutting-edge technology that strengthens a country’s economy - this is not the support that China is giving.

Malaysia has been noted profoundly as a victim of premature deindustrialisation, for shifting its focus onto services without having gone through thorough industrialisation.

Yet, decades onwards, we continue to rely excessively on cheap foreign labour, forgetting to invest in technology while nurturing a skilled, local workforce.

In the long term, this depresses wages while our cost of living continue to rise.

Thus, China’s sizable investments come not when the government is showing the political will to upgrade our workforce - in fact, our budget for higher education has been slashed one year after another.

FDI to enshroud fiscal mismanagement must not be misconstrued for economic progress...