Deputy Finance Minister Liew Chin Tong urges Malaysia to shift from efficiency to resilience amid global economic shifts and energy crunch
SUBANG JAYA: Malaysia is experiencing a consequential shift in the global order, necessitating a move away from the traditional pursuit of economic efficiency toward prioritising resilience, said Deputy Finance Minister Liew Chin Tong.
Speaking at a panel discussion “Confronting Global Economic Shocks: Lessons & Challenges for the Global South” at Sunway University, Liew emphasised that the global landscape has fundamentally changed following two decades dominated by a race to produce cheaper goods.
“We are no longer in a ‘just-in-time’ world. We are in a ‘just-in-case’ world. The pursuit of efficiency is now coming to an end. We should now move away from thinking of producing cheaper goods; we must now price in resilience at every juncture,” he said.
He noted that while Malaysia is entering the current crisis in a position of strength, the ongoing energy crunch will last much longer than initially anticipated.
Liew estimated it could take six to 12 months for energy supplies to recover to pre-crisis levels, and 12 to 24 months for prices to stabilise.
To navigate these challenges and build back better, Liew urged a shift in the country’s economic identity to capitalise on its existing supply chain and domestic capabilities.
“We should move beyond the mindset of a trading nation to see ourselves as a technology nation,” he said, citing the potential for Malaysia’s semiconductor capabilities to horizontally proliferate into medical devices, agricultural technology, and the defence industry.
To illustrate the potential for local resilience, Liew cited a recent meeting involving the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry (MITI), major plastic users like Coca-Cola and local recycling operators.
He noted that while local users currently import semi-finished plastic goods from China, Malaysia has a sophisticated recycling industry exporting high-grade materials to Europe. Connecting these silos, he argued, could foster domestic circularity.
Earlier, Citizens International chairman and the event’s moderator, Dr Shahridan Faiez, opened the session, emphasising that despite being deeply interconnected, the modern world is characterised by persistent inequality.
He noted that society is facing global crises more frequently, from 1998, 2008 and the COVID-19 pandemic, requiring institutions to be equipped for an increasingly volatile world.
World Bank senior economist Shakira Teh highlighted that while Malaysia learned valuable lessons and built economic buffers following the internally triggered 1997-1998 Asian Financial Crisis, modern crises have become much more frequent and rapid.
Comparing the rapid succession of modern crises to “TikTok brain rot culture,” Shakira warned that the constant focus on immediate stabilisation, such as boosting consumption, has caused policymakers to lose sight of longer-term challenges.
She identified the country’s fiscal position and the adequacy of its social protection as immediate constraints.
Stressing the need for better public understanding of government assistance, such as subsidies, Shakira, one of three panellists, noted that the public and policymakers must be more collaborative.
She also called for the structural and formal revisiting of major historical policies, such as the New Economic Policy, to consciously evaluate their continued effectiveness and future direction.
The event was hosted by Citizens International and co-hosted by the Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute (ASLI) and attended by civil society representatives, students, foreign diplomats and the media.
