This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, on October 9, 2015.

KUALA LUMPUR: Former international trade and industries minister Tan Sri Rafidah Aziz said she agrees with the Conference of Malay Rulers’ statement demanding the swift completion of investigations into debt-ridden 1Malaysia Development Board (1MDB) and appropriate stern action against those implicated.

“I think it’s time to take note that all these things need to be done promptly and expeditiously. If it needs to be resolved, get it resolved. I won’t tell you how to do it, you have your investigators. But you shouldn’t let the issue drag for so long till it becomes contentious and affects outsiders.

“Don’t let it affect the people who want to invest in Malaysia as it will cast aspersions on Malaysia when in fact, the reality is we are okay,” Rafidah told a press conference after delivering her special address titled: “Spreading Wings: Branding Corporate Malaysia” at the Malaysian Legal and Corporate Conference here yesterday.

However, she refused to put any blame on any one person, including Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who is at the centre of the controversy as he is the chairman of 1MDB’s board of advisors. 

“I said this is about issues. I don’t like to point fingers. The players are already immaterial. You can maintain objectivity when you talk about issues but when you talk about a person, you can become subjective,” she said.

She also said the public should not politicise the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement as it will tie the hands of government negotiators.

Rafidah said the TPP is a good move for the country, especially since Malaysia is only a “tiny nation” with a small market compared with the vast market that will be opened for Malaysian players the moment the deal is inked.

“There is a cost [to signing the TPP] but if the benefit outweighs the cost so much, why worry? You can’t have everything. You will lose some, but you will win some,” she said.

“To me, the Malaysian market is so small, what have we got to lose compared to what we will gain?

“Who wants to open up our country so that we will be trampled? We must have faith in our negotiators. What we need to do is open up the market rationally, we give what we can afford to lose and negotiate for what we want. 

“When you politicise an issue, the government will become hard pressed to make any offers because they are afraid someone will come in and politicise the matter,” said Rafidah.

Many NGOs and members of the public are wary of the TPP, believing Malaysia is signing over parts of its sovereignty to foreign powers and were concerned about the possibility of price hikes, especially for pharmaceutical and medical products.

Rafidah pointed out that Malaysian companies would not be fit to compete on the global stage if they continue to need government protection against the free market.

“If you continue to say you need protection, you’re not fit to go abroad. If you say compete domestically, that’s a different story. We have to be rational about this and do our arithmetic. If we remove this protection, who is going to come and compete against you?

“Do you want to compete in your little coconut shell? I would like to suggest to Malaysian companies, don’t be so parochial about protecting your turf. It’s not good in the long run. While you are being protected [and stay in Malaysia] other Asean countries will move [into the market] and attain a foothold.

“By the time you reach there, it will be too late. You need to have a mindset of going beyond the horizon instead of staying in a silo,” said Rafidah.