UMNO AGM Malaysia's blossoming business relationship with China was one of the highlights during the economic debate at the Umno annual general assembly today.

While most of the debate focused on improving the economic welfare and development of the bumiputeras, several speakers, including Jasin MP Ahmad Hamzah, lauded the move to get more investments from China.

This included the RM50 billion East Coast Railway Link, as well as a RM1.8 billion glass factory in his constituency Jasin, which Ahmad said would create more jobs for locals.

However, while saying that investments from China were good, Ahmad (photo) called for a few caveats.

One of them was for bumiputera rights to be upheld.

"We want, if possible, that every decision, any agreement, should never sell out our dignity and rights.

"If possible every agreement must be based on the Federal Constitution, which clearly states the special rights of Malays," Ahmad said.

Another, he said, was for goods that are produced locally to take precedent over imported goods.

Kelantan delegate Ikmal Hisham Abd Aziz said the shift to China was timely.

This, Ikmal Hisham said, is because the US was becoming less reliable as a trading partner following Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential elections.

'China opens up job opportunities'

Also, he claimed, Western investors were more interested in taking profits back to their home country, without benefiting Malaysia.

"Things are very different in our cooperation with China. They open up job opportunities for locals and are also willing to share their expertise," Ikmal Hisham said.

As for Kedah delegate Abdullah Hasnan Kamaruddin, while overseas investments are great, Malays must make their children economically resilient so that country would be strong, regardless of where the economic wind blows.

"We must be ready to educate our children, so that they have the knowledge and skills, and can be resilient with and inherit and govern this country," Abdullah Hasnan said.

Economic ties between Malaysia and China took centrestage after Umno president and Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak went there last month and secured US$144 billion worth of investments.

However, critics claim that Najib was selling the country to China.

They cited the sale of Bandar Malaysia to a China-Malaysia joint venture firm, as well as a China GLC's purchase of Edra Global Energy.

The two sales were made as part of Putrajaya's effort to rationalise 1MDB's debts.