Unfortunately, this image is, by extension, projected onto the country. So how can Malaysia be treated seriously if the whiny old man in charge complains all the time? He picked a fight with the EU (over palm oil), he offended India (over Kashmir and Malaysian protection of Muslim hate preacher Zakir Naik), he even thought it made perfect sense to bar Israelis and any event that hosts Israel or its citizens on its soil – what led to it being stripped of organizing Paralympic swimming championships this year.

Of course, you may think that a niche competition for disabled swimmers isn’t much to cry about but the reality is that such smaller events ultimately prove the country’s ability to host more serious ones in the future. And how can international institutions consider Malaysia which singles out contenders for their nationality?

This behavior does not go unnoticed elsewhere as well.

Will the EU be more inclined to listen to his complaints about the palm oil restrictions if the Malaysian PM chooses to publicly parade his Antisemitism? Of course not.

The world is a network of international interdependencies and one seemingly unrelated thing is going to impact many other. As if that wasn’t enough, Malaysia went as far as to threaten the EU countries with retaliatory sanctions, what surely must have resulted in a wave of snickers across the world.

Art of War

It seems that the good doctor is not acquainted with the work of the great Sun Tzu, who advised: “appear weak when you are strong, and strong when you are weak”.

Instead, Malaysian PM has decided the best policy for his country is to appear weak when it is weak (which is always).

In a response to questions about possible foreign threats of espionage a few months ago, during the international controversy over Huawei, he (quite famously by now) replied that: “What’s there to spy in Malaysia? (…) Everybody knows. If any country wants to invade Malaysia, they can walk through and we will not resist because it’s a waste of time”. Malaysians must have felt very reassured…

Lagging nations can only elevate themselves by projecting strength and resolve – not by complaining how bad their situation is.

China is a good example – back in the 1970s its GDP per capita was lower than in almost every country in Africa – and almost 9 times smaller than in Malaysia ($156 vs. $1246). Twenty years earlier 50 million people had died of starvation during Mao’s Great Leap Forward. And yet, through determination and demonstrable willingness to reform and open up to the world, Beijing has managed to encourage foreigners to come and invest in the Middle Kingdom. Over the subsequent four decades it has only reinforced its image as a stable – even if somewhat duplicitous – partner.