COMMENT | It is interesting to note that one of the PKR vice-presidents, Shamsul Iskandar, who is the MP of Hang Tuah Jaya in Malacca, has thrown his hat into the ring to be considered either as the foreign minister or minister of tourism.

Malaysia is now practically days away from forming a fuller cabinet, this time around with the inclusion of ministerial candidates from Sabah and Sarawak to give the chamber a more comprehensive form and function.

While the likes of Liew Chin Tong deserve a full ministership due to the extent of his hard work on the ground leading to the historic breakthrough of Pakatan Harapan, his prospective election petition against Wee Kah Siong in Ayer Hitam, Johor would delay his own appointment for now.

But Liew deserves to be in the cabinet, just as Nurul Izzah Anwar, too, has been touted by many as a deserving ministerial candidate due to the talent she exudes. Both of them are savvy, strategic and globally sophisticated.

To be sure, all three qualities, in their respective ways, are hard to define. But when combined together, they do produce what Max Weber, the father of modern sociology, called "charisma".

Charisma is a quality that is beyond a clear definition, argued Weber, yet it is nonetheless there to instil discipline and leadership by example among the rank and file in the party and concurrently, to carry out the trust of the people too.

But what is the trajectory of the new Malaysian foreign policy?

If one looks at the inaugural trip of Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to Japan recently, coupled with what the cabinet and PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim himself had been saying in London that more countries need to speak out against corruption, Malaysia does need a new strategic set of relationships.

Even if these reinforces the old ones, they can give the anti-corruption drive that additional ballast and yield.

After all, it is not just the US, Switzerland, Singapore, Hong Kong and Luxembourg that are entangled with 1MDB, but potentially more countries exposed to what Council of Eminent Persons chairperson Daim Zainuddin called "mini 1MDBs."

Thus, the new foreign minister has to be able to Look East - not unlike how Bersatu strategist Rais Hussin mapped out - just as he or she has to be able to go global to secure Malaysia's good standing in anti-corruption drives while negotiating a strong financial/development aid programme too.

In truth, the foreign minister must be well-read, articulate with a deep understanding of global issues including geopolitics and geoeconomics.

All of that has to be understood within the Malaysian context too. In other words, how will Malaysia form relationships that can enhance its international standing as a country that is protective of its place as a key pioneer of Asean and the East Asian Summit?

One more criterion

Just as importantly, she or he has to have the ability to convey narratives through constructive and strategic engagements so that the credibility and trust in Malaysia, invariably as a country determined to reform itself, will be enhanced progressively.

Take the multi-track approach of Rais Hussin on Look East, for example. It could just as well be applied to the key members of the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

The OECD with its headquarters in Paris is one of the few multilateral organisations that have signed the anti-corruption pledge. It is a club of 34 of the world's most developed countries.

Japan and South Korea are both members of OECD, with South Korea joining it in 1996 after satisfying itself as a developed country.

If Malaysia wants to achieve Vision 2020/25 without any delay, our new foreign minister has to understand the demands of Look East and OECD, in addition to the dynamics of the permanent members of the UN Security Council. All of these policies have to be anchored, and reinforced, through Asean and the East Asian Summit.

Indeed, the current Look East policy has Mahathir reminding his audiences in Japan that Malaysia wants to know how some East Asian countries developed so quickly and how they have a sense of shame too.

China, Japan and South Korea have each embarked on their anti-corruption drive. In Asean, Malaysia and Indonesia want to play the lead in this endeavour. Indeed, President Jokowi Widodo achieved the top position based on his strong anti-corruption drive.

But there is one more criterion badly needed in the new foreign minister - the ability to negotiate soft loans and financial aid, ideally denominated in ringgit.

Unlike the 1980s, the first phase of Look East allowed various top Japanese banks and financial institutions to operate in Malaysia. Granted their presence here, such as Mitsui and the Aeon financial group, helps.

If Japanese loans and credit can be extended to Malaysia in the form of ringgit, invariably to defray the (debt) exposure in the spike of the Japanese yen, as had happened after the signing of the Plaza Accord of 1986, then Malaysia and Japan are on to a comprehensive strategic relationship described by the nine-track strategy prescribed by Rais Hussin.

The likes of the latter deserve a stint as a foreign minister, too, just as others mentioned earlier are candidates with their respective strengths.

PHAR KIM BENG is a Harvard/Cambridge Commonwealth Fellow, a former Monbusho scholar at the University of Tokyo and visiting scholar at Waseda University.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.