Malaysia Chronicle
The European Union Ambassador to Malaysia Luc Vandebon said the EU
would have no porblems working with Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim and
his Pakatan Rakyat coalition should they wrest the federal government in
the coming general election.
“Absolutely, we want to work with Malaysia. We are ready to work with
Datuk Seri Anwar and any other democratically-elected government,”
Vandebon told a press conference on Friday.
Very significant statement from a world power
The statement is a tremendous morale booster for the 64-year-old
Anwar and PR as they move into the last lap of what is expected to be a
very dirty ballot.
Prime Minister Najib Razak, who has vowed to defend his Umno-BN
government’s 55-year hold on power “at all costs”, is likely to dissolve
Parliament and call for the country’s 13th general elections in the
next few weeks..
“It is a very positive sign as far as PKR and PR are conscerned. The
Ambassador said categorically they are prepared to work with any
democratically-elected government and this is a very significant
statement coming at this time,” Anwar later told reporters when asked
for his response to the EU’s statement.
“Their presentation today to PR leaders and Members of Parliament was
informative. They raised various economic issues that are of importance
to the EU and we will take these views and positions into
consideration.”
Umno-BN risks becoming a pariah to the global community
PKR leaders cheered the news, pointing out that EU’s emphasis on
co-operation with “democratically-elected” government should be noted by
Najib and his Umno-BN coalition.
“EU is one of the world’s most powerful economies and trading blocs.
The fact that they came to the PKR headquarters tells its own story.
This is a very important statement and should serve as a warning to
Najib and Umno-BN,” PKR senior leader Tan Kee Kwong told Malaysia
Chronicle on the sidelines of the conference.
“If they try to hang onto power by unjust and unfair means, the EU
may not want to play ball with them. Umno-BN will become a pariah as far
as the global community is concerned, they should watch it.”
Kee Kwong’s remark comes as the Umno-BN struggles to shake itself
free from allegations of vote-rigging and even offering citizenship to
illegal immigrants in exchange for their votes.
The concerns of the Malaysian people that there will be widespread
electoral cheating are serious and widespread, and reflected in the
phenomenal support for free and fair polls movement Bersih, which
managed to carry out 3 successful public rallies despite being banned
and prosecuted by the Najib administration.
Negotiations to resume after GE13
Vandebon had on Friday morning led a team to the PKR headquarters to
discuss the ongoing EU-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement (FTA). Since 2010,
the EU has had seven rounds of negotiations with the Malaysian
government, but nothing concrete has been finalized. T
The EU team has been told that negotiations will resume after the general election.
“I am not sure we can say there has been any delay … given that these
are extremely complex agreements. But we are ready to resume
negotiations after the elections with any democratically-elected
government,” Vandebon reiterated.
The EU is an economic and political union of 27 member states which
are located primarily in Europe. The EU operates through a system of
supranational independent institutions and intergovernmental negotiated
decisions by the member states.
It has a combined population of over 500 million or 7.3% of the world
population, generating the largest nominal world gross domestic product
(GDP) of 17.6 trillion US dollars in 2011, representing approximately
20% of the global GDP when measured in terms of purchasing power parity.
Level playing field
Anwar was quick to affirm his coalition’s willingness to work the EU but stressed the need for a “level playing field”.
“Malaysia is a trading nation and effective measures need to be
adopted to enhance trade and investment. We will direct the Pakatan
Rakyat Economic Secretariat to urgently look into the matter. We will
engage with our industry sectors for their feedback. Our general
principle is to adopt the principle of free trade with fairness and a
level playing field,” said Anwar, a deputy prime minister and finance
minister.
In 2011, Malaysia was the EU’s 23rd largest trading partner in goods.
Bilateral trade between the EU and Malaysia is dominated by industrial
products. The EU mainly imports machinery and appliances and mainly
exports electrical equipment and machinery (both ways industrial
products account for more than 90% of trade). Other sectors of relevance
in terms of EU imports from Malaysia are plastics and rubber and animal
and vegetable fats and oils and in terms of exports, mechanical
products.
EU imports from Malaysia have gradually increased since 2003,
experiencing a significant decrease in 2008-2009 (16% fall). With the
exception of fisheries, EU exports have also seen a growing trend since
2000, with an 18% decrease in 2008-2009 due to the economic downturn.
Although Malaysia has not been a major trading partner in services so
far, opportunities are increasing due to pressure to liberalise key
sectors.
In September 2010 the EU Member States approved the launch of
negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement with Malaysia. Malaysia is a
member of ASEAN and a WTO member.