<figure id="attachment_3013821" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3013821" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" class="wp-image-3013821 size-full" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/14185a42-ong-kian-ming-fmt-resize-200325-1.webp" alt="Ong Kian Ming" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3013821" class="wp-caption-text">Former deputy investment, trade and industry minister Ong Kian Ming said Malaysia should also explore opportunities with companies from other countries that can provide similar technologies and value propositions.</figcaption></figure>
PETALING JAYA: The reciprocal trade agreement that Malaysia signed with the US should not be viewed as an imminent threat but a deal that opens up new possibilities, a former deputy investment, trade and industry minister says.
Ong Kian Ming said that under the deal, Malaysia should seek funding and investments from the US in areas such as critical minerals and power generation.
&#8220;Malaysia should also explore opportunities with companies from other countries that can provide similar technologies and value propositions,&#8221; he said in a statement.
Ong’s remarks followed claims by the opposition that the deal compromised Malaysia’s sovereignty. Questions were also raised about the requirement for Malaysia to &#8220;adopt or maintain&#8221; any prohibition or restriction imposed by the US on third countries deemed a threat to its economic or national security.
The Attorney-General’s Chambers subsequently said that Malaysia’s sovereignty and national interests remained fully protected, while the US envoy to Malaysia said the deal provided a more balanced partnership between the two nations.
Ong said it was unlikely for the US to terminate the agreement, commonly referred to as ART, should Malaysia fail to align its policies with Washington’s interests.
He said US policies on a host of matters were currently in flux as they were largely determined &#8220;by the whims and fancies” of president Donald Trump.
With the exception of Trump’s preference for tariffs, Ong said the president had flip-flopped on his engagement with China, Russia, the European Union and Japan on a number of issues.
&#8220;Without policy stability, it is hard to ask for policy ‘alignment’,&#8221; he said.
He also said that Malaysia was not an important enough player on the international stage to warrant special policy influence from the US on matters of economic and strategic value.
He said Trump would focus on the &#8220;big powers&#8221; like China, India, Russia, Brazil and the EU, not Southeast Asia.
Ong said Trump would remember Malaysia as the country where he danced with a troupe of performers on his arrival, and that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim was &#8220;a very good man&#8221;.
&#8220;In all other matters, it will be left to negotiations at the working level, where both sides will seek room to find consensus in some areas and the ability to disagree in others, without threatening the termination of the deal,&#8221; he said.

MatchPoint Times

US trade deal opens up new possibilities, says ex-deputy minister

Ong Kian Ming says Washington is unlikely to terminate the deal if Malaysia fails to align with US policies.

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