In May 11974, Tun Abdul Rassa, then Prime Minister of Malaysia, visited China and returned home, and the Chinese people welcomed him along the way. At the age of 18, I was about to finish high school. I was caught in the welcome team of students and shared the joy of the whole country. The posters that are visible to the streets are all photos of the Prime Minister shaking hands with Chairman Mao Zedong. The freeze of this historical moment has since become a classic lens in the history of the establishment of diplomatic relations between and of Malaysia and China.
19 summer (1993), I visited China as the deputy speaker of the lower house of Malaysian parliament, and was received by General Qin Jiwei, then Vice Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Congress, which also kicked off my regular visit to China since then.
That year was a year when I had frequent contact with China. At that time, Qiao Shi, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Chinese People's Congress who was fortunate to represent the Malaysian House of Commons, was welcomed to serve on behalf of the Malaysian House of Commons. For me, this is certainly an honor and an unforgettable page in my personal political career. But more importantly, that visit marked the starting point of diplomacy between Malaysia and China Parliament, and also added a new and brilliant chapter to the history of exchanges between the two countries. Since then, many vice chairmans have visited Malaysia one after another, and there has been a constant stream of visits.
In the same year, my trip to China covered Nanjing, the ancient capital of the Six Dynasties, Shanghai, Shili foreign market, and Wenchang, Hainan, where my parents' hometown. What is rare is that while getting rid of the official nuisance, I can still fulfill my wish to satisfy my shortcomings of sleeping in China for many years. From the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum in Nanjing, the original Presidential Palace , to the Sihang Warehouse in Shanghai and the former residence of Lu Xun in the Japanese Concession, I personally feel the profound historical precipitation. When I arrived in Wenchang, Hainan, the familiar banana wind and coconut rain and the friendly spoken dialect made me temporarily forget that I was just a stranger who had just arrived at the noble realm. Back to my parents' hometown, welcoming my brothers, sisters-in-law and nephews whom I met for the first time. In their talkative narrative, estrangement and shyness quickly melted into the rich family affection. Looking around my hometown, I felt that I might be able to do my best to build my parents' hometown.
html What is unexpected is that this reverie will be realized in 15 years. In 2008, I was transferred to the position of Minister of Transport of the Federation of Malaysia. The fate of my position gave me the opportunity to contribute my own efforts to the establishment of the civil aviation route between Kuala Lumpur -Haikou. On the day of the first voyage, I led a delegation to set off, and sure enough, there were a lot of twists and turns. When I returned to my hometown, my eyes suddenly lit up. Once upon a time, the roads around me had been paved with asphalt . The whole village seemed to be covered in new clothes, looking energetic. At that time, like the whole of China, it exudes an unprecedented confidence.Indeed, 2008 is not only the "Beijing Olympics" year that the whole Chinese nation is proud of - Beijing successfully held the Olympic Games, leaving a brilliant page for Olympic history, but also the first year for China's official rise on the international stage, shouldering unprecedented international responsibilities. The lessons learned from the U.S.'s subprime mortgage crisis that almost caused global financial panic, the U.S. may have forgotten it, but China's timely intervention in the assistance is not to be erased.
In the same year, I reached a peak in my party politics career and was elected as the leader of my party. After taking up my new visit, I first chose China. Before the Spring Festival in 2009, in January, when it was still cold, I led a party, league, political and business delegation of more than 50 people to Beijing. It is not only a friendly journey to renew the past, but also an economic and trade journey to explore business opportunities. In addition to consolidating the relationship between the party, the interaction between economy and trade also became the focus of my party at that time. What I never expected was that after fading out of Malaysian politics, China became the object of my work docking and research. First, the establishment of the "Malaysia China Silk Road Chamber of Commerce" in 2016 was to respond to the promotion of the "Belt and Road" initiative. This can be said to be the starting point for my career planning transition, and a new field is waiting for me to develop. Two years later, with a nervous mood of exploration, I stepped into the territory of international relations and geopolitical , and founded an independent think tank based in Malaysia and looking at the Asia-Pacific - the New Asia Strategic Research Center.In just four years, it has unconsciously penetrated into the waters and became a partner for the connection and cooperation between many think tanks of China and neighboring countries.
During this period, in the flood of information from both China and abroad, I suddenly realized that I was in a new situation that I had not seen once in a century. From the outbreak of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, the scapegoat of European and American countries to the restoration of Cold War thinking and populist , I see that an inherent global governance order is kidnapped by ideology , and its framework is gradually sleepwalking towards the abyss of disintegration.
Perhaps the epidemic that swept the world this time is a mirror of demons. It not only reflects the unbearable governance of human civilization, but also leaves ghosts and monsters wearing painted skins without any hiding. While European and American countries are trapped in the epidemic and are competing to grab limited anti-epidemic materials, China's rush to help bring warmth is another glorious portrayal of human nature.
Under this strong contrast, media public opinion controlled by Western capital consortiums has repeatedly vilified China in recent years. Even if it does everything, it cannot stop the momentum of the emergence of Chinese public products. China's peaceful rise and active participation in international affairs demonstrates a great country's solemn responsibility for global governance and the international order. From the Belt and Road Initiative to the concept of "Community with a Shared Future for Mankind", and adding the "Global Development Initiative" and "Global Security Initiative", I feel the urgency of China to turn the tide and protect the international multilateral cooperation mechanism.
Although I am in the border, I don’t want to be out of this time when the old and new orders are about to change and miss this historical node. It is true that at this moment when human existence is under threat, the global destiny is shared with one's own woes. It is no longer an empty concept and slogan, but a battle that is urgent and must be won with all our might. Of course, this cannot avoid global cooperation, and at the same time, it is necessary to gather world wisdom to reshape the international order in order to have the hope of embarking on a prosperous road that belongs to everyone.
(The author is the chairman of the Malaysian New Asia Strategic Research Center, former deputy speaker of the lower house of Malaysia and former minister of the Federal Ministry of Transport)
