In Malay, there is a saying that roughly goes “hendak seribu daya, tidak hendak seribu dalih“. It means where there is a will, there is a way. The proverb aptly describes the just recently agreed upon free trade deal between South Korea and the United States of America. The deal is agreed upon despite the fact that both parties missed the first two deadlines twice. As such, while “hendak seribu daya” belongs to the Korean, “tidak hendak seribu dalih” truly belongs to the Malaysian.
As reported by AP earlier:
The United States and South Korea successfully concluded a free trade agreement after almost 10 months of contentious negotiations, a U.S. official said Monday.
The deal, which requires legislative approval in both countries, is the biggest for the United States since the North American Free Trade Agreement signed in 1992 and ratified in 1993. It is the biggest ever for South Korea. [South Korea, U.S. Reach Free Trade Deal. AP via Forbes. April 2 2007.
With the deal, the South Koreans are probably going to move farther up the economic ladder, leaving behind Malaysia which is too scare to face the reality out there in the world. So far behind that we would, as our leaders ever so proudly declare, be first among third world nations.
We, unfortunately, seem to prefer to sit in the dark inside a box, ignoring the wave of changes outside the box. While South Korea will continue to roar, there we are, sleeping with policies crafted nearly half a century ago, thinking such outdated policies are our savior.
Between the world of wonders in one hand and world of stagnation in the other, Malaysia chooses the latter, thinking it is not worth it to be better tomorrow than what we are today. We would rather defend an outdated policy that has failed instead of creating new one that promises greater prosperity.
All is not lost though. Malaysia and the US plan to get back to the negotiation table in mid-April:
WASHINGTON, April 1 (Bernama) — Malaysia and the United States Saturday missed their deadline to submit a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to the US Congress that would have secured fast-track approval from Capitol Hill.
US Ambassador to Malaysia Christopher LaFleur said here Friday “although the two countries won’t make the deadline, what’s important is not the timing but the substance of the agreement.”
The goal of the two countries was “to reach a high quality FTA that would benefit both countries,” he said when addressing the Malaysian-American Society at the American University here.
[…]
Meanwhile, US-Malaysia trade talks which stalled in Sabah will be revived in Washington in mid-April. [Malaysia And US Miss FTA Deadline. Bernama. April 2007]
The ambassador is right in every sense. Nevertheless, with the Democrats in control of Congress, it will be harder to get a free trade agreement that comes close to the the spirit of free trade. Further, previously, Malaysia had great advantage over the US negotiators. Time was the leverage and time was on our side.
Alas, that window had come and passed. With the end of the TPA, Malaysia now truly stands alone against a giant, unless we jumpstart the Doha round.
